Mark Johns – Page 27

ANS-073 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for March 14, 2021

March 14, 2021 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: [email protected]

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:

* Spacewalk Addresses ARISS Equipment Issue
* Eight Amateur Radio Satellites to Deploy From ISS On March 14
* Delfi-N3xt Back To Life After 7 Years Of Silence
* First Contact Via UVSQ-Sat FM Transponder
* Another Achievement For Explorer Richard Garriott
* Renewal of Orbital Data Request for TLE Redistribution by AMSAT
* News Conference Details ARISS Efforts
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-073 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 073.01
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002

DATE 2021 Mar 14

Spacewalk Addresses ARISS Equipment Issue

International Space Station Expedition 64 U.S. Spacewalk #73 to Continue Station Upgrades took place on Saturday, March 13 beginning at approximately 12:30z. Astronaunts Victor Glover, KI5BKC, and Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, undertook a number of tasks left incomplete when a previous spacewalk had to be terminated early.

One of those tasks was a re-connection of four cables on the Bartolomao platform which is attached to the Columbus Module of the space station. Columbus is the home of the primary ARISS amateur radio station, which is used for school contacts and other ARISS activities.

After an extended effort to complete some cable connections on the Bartolomao platform, Hopkins moved on to the ARISS VHF/UHF antenna on the “Earth side” of the Columbus Module at approximately 18:15z, roughly five hours into the spacewalk, and successfully removed a jumper cable between Columbus and the antenna. Hopkins raised a question concerning a sharp bend in the cable near the connector. However, no adjustments were possible.

Because NASA safety protocols require the ARISS radios to be powered down during spacewalks, there will be no opportunity to check the success of the cable re-configurations until Sunday, March 14. The Columbus Module ARISS radios are expected to be powered up in the VHF packet mode at about 12:00z on that day.

[ANS thanks NASA TV and Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS Chair, for the above information]

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!

Eight Amateur Radio Satellites to Deploy From ISS On March 14

Eight satellites, all coordinated by the IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel, are planned to be deployed from the International Space Station on Sunday, March 14.

The deployment should be streamed live on YouTube, watch from 09:15 GMT at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLltILh8SLw

The CubeSats being deployed are:
• OPUSAT-II
• GuaraniSat-1 (BIRDS-4)
• Maya-2 (BIRDS-4)
• Tsuru (BIRDS-4)
• RSP-01
• WARP-01
• TAUSAT-1
• STARS-EC

It is understood the BIRDS-4 satellites are carrying digipeaters and TAUSAT-1 has an FM transponder. Further information including the IARU coordinated frequencies are at http://amsat.org.uk/iaru/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

Delfi-N3xt Back To Life After 7 Years Of Silence

Recently, a signal was picked up from the Delfi-n3Xt, the satellite of the TU Delft with which contact was lost in 2014. This came as a big surprise to all involved. Delfi-n3Xt is the second satellite launched by TU Delft, as part of the Delfi Program, which develops very small satellites. Now that the satellite is transmitting again, steps are being taken to further the mission. The first Delfi satellite, Delfi-C3, is still working as well.

The Delfi-n3Xt project started in 2007 and the satellite was launched in November 2013. The satellite operated successfully for three months, fulfilling its main mission objectives and achieving mission success. Unfortunately, in February 2014 contact with the satellite was lost after an experiment with the linear transponder. The satellite was not heard since and was considered silent.

Three weeks ago, on February 9th, an automatic email notification was received from the satellite’s ground station, indicating that a signal from the Delfi-n3Xt had been picked up. “I always considered the possibility that the satellite might still be working but just not transmitting for some unknown reason. I programmed the ground station software such that it would still continue to track Delfi-n3Xt every single day and send me an email notification if it ever would come back to life,” says Nils von Storch, student and operator on the project in 2013 and technical responsible at the ground station since. Carrying out relevant checks and analysing the received telemetry frames prove the satellite is transmitting again.

The cause of the sudden silence has never been determined, and now the big question is how Delfi-n3Xt could come ‘back to life.’ There are hypotheses: the software might have caused the problem and a bit may have ‘flipped’ recently. This can occur when charged high energy particles hit electronic components in space. Or perhaps a component caused a short circuit, and after being exposed to the extreme conditions in space for years it may have broken off. “Of course, in the past we have looked for all kinds of explanations, and we also had theories about how the contact could ever come back. But after so long, I hadn’t counted on it anymore. Whether we will ever find out exactly how it happened, I doubt it,” says Jasper Bouwmeester, project manager of the mission since 2007.

Bouwmeester is confident that the satellite can still be of use to science. “We can learn how the satellite and its technologies and systems have held up after seven years in space. Testing systems such as the propulsion system, is relevant too, and using the Delfi-n3Xt for educational purposes is another possibility.” Before any research can be carried out, a number of steps have to be taken. A lot depends on whether the satellite can still be controlled. Also, the ground station at the EEMCS faculty is temporarily inaccessible and some of the software from 2014 no longer works on modern computers. At the same time, a formal process is necessary, as permits and insurance have expired. “But I am sure that we will be able to find solutions,” says Stefano Speretta, managing operations. “If we don’t lose the signal again, there are interesting times ahead.”

[ANS thanks Delft University of Technology for the above information]

First Contact Via UVSQ-Sat FM Transponder

The first contact was made via the FM transponder on the UVSQ-Sat CubeSat on Friday, March 5, 2021.

Michel Mahé, F4DEY, of the F6KRK radio club carried out the transponder test from the Latmos ground station near Paris. The first contact was with Peter Goodhall, 2M0SQL, in Elgin, Scotland.

After the contact Michel tweeted “Very happy to have been able to operate the Latmos station and do #F6KRKR/P validate the transponder #UVSQSat “on #space” after validation of the satellite at the Lab of #Latmos in October 2020!”

Peter tweeted “Fantastic to be QSO #1 on UVSQ-SATs FM transponder wish the @uvsqsat good luck in their commissioning and it being available more often :)”

UVSQ-Sat
http://uvsq-sat.projet.latmos.ipsl.fr/?ong=Ham-Radio
https://twitter.com/uvsqsat

Michel Mahé F4DEY
https://twitter.com/F4DEY_78

Peter Goodhall 2M0SQL
https://www.2m0sql.com/
https://twitter.com/2m0sql

As part of the ham radio mission, the UVSQ-SAT one-unit CubeSat embeds a radio transponder which will be accessible to the community in parallel of the other scientific objectives according to the power budget. The UVSQ-SAT team will provide an availability of the transponder up to 20% (schedule 7 to 15 days in advance with a distribution via the project’s website and / or Twitter account).

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and LATMOS for the above information]

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/

Another Achievement For Explorer Richard Garriott

British-born Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, has become the first explorer to have been to both poles, orbited the Earth and reached the bottom of the deepest ocean.

On February 28, 2021, he traveled to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, at 11,034 metres (36,201 ft) the deepest oceanic trench on the planet.

He is not the first astronaut to make the descent to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, former-NASA astronaut Kathy Sullivan ex-N5YYV did that in 2020 but Richard is the first person to also have visited the North Pole (2018) and the South Pole (2000).

Richard’s US amateur radio callsign W5KWQ recently expired but in a tweet sent March 7 he said he would be renewing his license as soon as possible https://twitter.com/RichardGarriott/status/1368523553881006082

He made many amateur radio contacts during his space mission in 2008 including one to pupils at Budbrooke Primary School in Warwick, UK. You can watch the video of that contact at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNIct1g26DQ

Richard’s father was astronaut Owen K. Garriott W5LFL who in 1983, during the STS-9 Columbia mission, made the first amateur radio contacts from space, see https://amsat-uk.org/2012/05/09/vintage-video-of-sts-9-columbia-mission-and-spacelab/

2008 Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, Gets Busy from Space http://www.arrl.org/news/richard-garriott-w5kwq-gets-busy-from-space

Richard Garriott https://richardgarriott.com/

[ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information]

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. Come along for the ride. The
journey will be worth it!

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF

Renewal of Orbital Data Request for TLE Redistribution by AMSAT

I am pleased to announce that AMSAT-NA’s request to re-distribute TLE elements from Space-Track website has been approved for the period April 1, 2021 to April 1, 2022. Our ODR (Orbital Data Request) to distribute the Space-Track TLEs was approved by Air Force 18 SPCS, Vandenburg AFB on March 12, 2021.

Thanks to Air Force 18 SPCS, Perry Klein (W3PK), Paul Stoetzer (N8HM) and Joe Fitzgerald (KM1P) for their help in this yearly process.

We are “good to go” for another year.

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

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

News Conference Details ARISS Efforts to Return ISS Ham Station to the Air

At a March 10 news conference, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) reported that, so far, all efforts to determine what’s keeping the ham station in the ISS Columbus module off the air have been unsuccessful. It appears that the radio equipment is working, but no signal appears to be reaching the external ARISS antenna. The station, typically operated as NA1SS, has not been usable since new RF cables were installed during a January 27 spacewalk (EVA) to support the commissioning of the Bartolomeo payload hosting platform installed last spring. During the January EVA, the coax feed line installed 11 years ago was replaced with another built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus. Responding to a question during the news conference, ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, did not rule out a fault in the radio equipment.

“There is still that possibility that there might be a problem with the radio,” he said. Bauer listed three possible problem areas: The HMU-898 cable inside the cabin may have a break due to a previous tight turn, a connector may be installed improperly, or an HMU-601 cable installation or workmanship anomaly. During the January 27 EVA, the HMU-601 cable was installed in series with the ARISS antenna cable.

During a March 13 spacewalk (EVA), astronauts Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, and Victor Glover, KI5BKC, plan to return the ARISS antenna feed line cabling to its configuration prior to the January 27 spacewalk.

The news conference covered details of the cable troubleshooting already conducted. Bauer said the ARISS team has been working closely with NASA and the ESA to identify what may have caused the “radio anomaly” keeping the ISS Columbus module ham station off the air. He thanked ARISS-Russia’s Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, for allowing ARISS to use the ham station in the service module to continue its contact schedule.

This past week, astronauts on the ISS performed troubleshooting tests on all four new feed lines installed on the Columbus module. One cable was earmarked for the ARISS station, while the other three are for Bartolomeo. ARISS reported over the weekend, however, that it was unable to establish communication using any of the feed line cables connected to the ARISS radio system, which was tested in APRS mode.

The plan to return the ARISS cabling to its original configuration was a “contingency task” for a March 5 spacewalk, but the astronauts ran out of time.

ARISS became aware of the station problem after a contact with a school in Wyoming, between ON4ISS on Earth and Hopkins at NA1SS, had to abort when no downlink signal was heard. For the time being, ARISS school and group contacts with crew members have been conducted using the ham station in the ISS service module.

A recording of the news conference is available for viewing on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hm4h4rBE9k

[ANS thanks ARRL and Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS operation team member, 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.

A contact with Goodwood Primary School, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, is scheduled for Wed 2021-03-17 08:32:31 UTC. The scheduled astronaut is Victor Glover KI5BKC, using the space station callsign of NA1SS. This will be a telebridge contact via NA7V, so it will be heard over North America. Maximum elelvation will be 33 degrees. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, ARISS operation team member, for the above information]

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/

Upcoming Satellite Operations

Quick Hits:

****Watch Twitter, there are lots pop-up roves happening lately, and I can’t keep this page updated with all of them.****

EN55/EN56: KC9BKA Hoping to hit up the EN55/56 grid line on Friday, March 19 for mid day passes. I haven’t checked the pass lineup yet. Would anyone need EN55/56

@AK7DD and Ledger: We will be headed to DN41 on the 14th of March. My plan is to hit DN30 on the way up. Our plans are to be in the area there until around the 24th of March, and we will hit a few of our normal activation grids on the way home, DN30, DM39 & DM49, etc. Anyhow, once we have landed in DN41, we will be doing a handful of roves in Utah and Idaho as time allows.

EL58: W7LT: EL58 happening April 1 … more to come. And then thinking Maine for the first weekend in April. Taking requests …

EM68/68: WB9VPG: Upcoming trip to EM67/68 and 58/68 possible on Wednesday, March 17. I’ll post more when I know more.

FN44: N1AIA I plan to operate from FN44 Thu 11 March 1400-1500z. SO-50, maybe AO-27, RS-44

Major Roves:

CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for #SOTA folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once before.

Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com

[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.

One of the AMSAT Ambassadors, and an ARRL registered instructor, is Clint Bradford, K6LCS. Clint has the following presentations scheduled, with more on the way:
03/16 – Palm Springs, CA
03/20 – Bonham, Texas
04/01 – Orem, Utah
06/15 – East Massachusetts
If a 90-minute lively, informative, and fun “How to Work the Easy Satellites” Zoom presentation would be appropriate for your convention or club, contact Clint, or one of the other Ambassadors:
Clint Bradford K6LCS
http://www.work-sat.com
909-999-SATS (7287)

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

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ If you enjoy seeing things blow up (and who doesn’t like good fireworks?) there is a glorious slow-motion video of the “Rapid Unplanned Disassembly” of the SpaceX SN10 test flight at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIZOcsu8tWk&t=120s The explosion, which occurred after what appeared to be a successful landing, was probably caused by malfunctioning landing legs on the rocket. But fear not, SpaceX already has SN11 on the pad for another attempt. If at first you don’t succeed…. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information).

+ Continuing a high-tempo launch cadence, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a new set of Starlink satellites and landed the booster March 11. The launch brings the total number of Starlink satellites launched to 1,265, although more than 60 of them have since deorbited. In a Feb. 22 filing with the Federal Communications Commission, SpaceX requested to modify its FCC license, allowing it to move satellites into lower orbits. Several other satellite operators oppose the request, primarily on concerns that the modified constellation will interfere with their systems. The FCC has not indicated when it will rule on SpaceX’s request. (ANS thanks SpaceNews.com and SpaceflightNow.com for the above information)

+ NASA has assigned astronaut Mark Vande Hei, KG5GNP, to an upcoming mission to the International Space Station as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 64/65 crew. Vande Hei, along with cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, are scheduled to launch Friday, April 9, on the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They will be joined on the ISS by astronauts Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG, who will arrive on the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” spacecraft now scheduled for launch on April 22. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)

+ NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope resumed observations March 11 after a software error placed it in a protective safe mode several days earlier, but the incident is a reminder of the telescope’s mortality. The spacecraft was launched in April 1990 and serviced by the space shuttle five times, most recently in May 2009. With the shuttle long since retired, astronomers know that, at some point, Hubble will suffer an unrecoverable failure that will end its historic mission. (ANS thanks SpaceNews.com for the above information)

+ Three residents of the International Space Station will take a spin around their orbital neighborhood in the Soyuz MS-17 on Friday, March 19, relocating the spacecraft to prepare for the arrival of the next set of crew members. Live coverage on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website will begin at 17:15 UTC. Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA and Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, both of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, will undock from the Earth-facing port of the station’s Rassvet module at 17:38z and dock again at the space-facing Poisk docking port at 18:07z (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)

+ The largest asteroid predicted to pass by our planet in 2021 will be at its closest on March 21, providing astronomers a rare opportunity to get a good look at a rocky relic that formed at the dawn of our solar system. Called 2001 FO32, the near-Earth asteroid will make its closest approach at a distance of about 1.25 million miles (2 million kilometers) – or 5 1/4 times the distance from Earth to the Moon. There is no threat of a collision with our planet, even though that distance is “close” in astronomical terms. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information)

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President’s Club. Members of the President’s Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Store.

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. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional student 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-066 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for March 7, 2021

March 7, 2021 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: [email protected]

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:

AMSAT Ambassadors to Speak at QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo
Revised QO-100 WB Transponder Bandplan and Operating Guidelines
Rubins and Noguchi assemble solar array fixtures outside ISS
VUCC Awards-Endorsements for March 1 2021
India, Brazil Launch Amazônia-1 On PSLV Rocket
IARU Region 1 Participates in ITU WRC-23, Prep for 23cm Allocations
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 4, 2021
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-066 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 066
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002

Date: 2021 March 07

AMSAT Ambassadors to Speak at QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo

Several AMSAT Ambassadors are scheduled to speak at the QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo on Saturday, March 13, 2021. The QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo to be held on March 12-14, 2021 features many speakers over a wide range of technical and operating topics. Among the speakers will be two AMSAT Ambassadors presenting in the Space Auditorium on Saturday March 13, 2021:

“Working the Easy FM Amateur Satellites” Clint Bradford, K6LCS 1200-1300 EST

From getting licensed to finding local clubs to working the “easy” FM amateur satellites – with minimal investment! We’ll cover all the basics for you – with plenty of ways to submit any questions you may have afterwards. Let’s get you “working the birds” ASAP!

Clint Bradford has been a ham since 1994, and is also involved in the commercial side of the communications industry. His “How to Work the Amateur Satellites With Your HT” presentation has informed and delighted more than 100 audiences over the past few years – clubs, conventions, and hamfests not only in Southern California, but also clubs across North America and Canada. He is an ARRL educator, AMSAT Ambassador, and member of several AMSAT chapters across the planet.

“Getting on the air with Amateur Radio Satellites” Tom Schuessler, N5HYP 1700-1800 EST

Tom will provide an introduction to what you need to know to become active on FM satellites and beyond.

Tom was licensed in 1985. Although he was aware of Amateur Radio space communications, he thought it was just too far beyond the means of the average ham. In 2009, he caught the bug from the late Keith Pugh, W5IU. The realization that he already had a radio that would work with the then existing FM satellites was all he needed. He now not only actively enjoys communicating through the current fleet of Amateur Radio satellites, but loves to communicate his passion and experience to those who have never yet experienced the thrill. Professionally, Tom Has worked in the broadcast television and video fields as a production and systems engineer.

Also scheduled to present are AMSAT’s Human Space partners at ARISS:

“How to Enjoy Amateur Radio Contacts with the International Space Station” Frank Bauer, KA3HDO & Rosalie White, K1STO 1600-1700 EST

You can enjoy ham radio contacts through the ARISS radios on the International Space Station. We’ll explain how you can have fun trying ARISS packet, SSTV and repeater mode. Intermediate level & even beginners learn how to try off-the-planet hamming.

Frank H. Bauer’s aerospace career spans over 40 years within NASA and private industry. Mr. Bauer’s primary research interests include space borne applications of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and space vehicle formation flying. He was the principal investigator of 4 spaceflight GPS and formation flying experiments including the AMSAT-OSCAR-40 GPS experiment, investigating the use of GPS above the constellation. His hobbies include astronomy, amateur radio, and flying. He’s the founder of ARISS-USA, which enables amateur radio on the ISS.

Rosalie White is an ARISS-US Delegate to the International Space Station (supported by NASA). Her specialties are STEM, Aerospace, NASA, Amateur Radio, and Aviation.

Complete information is available at https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com

[ANS thanks QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo for the above information.]

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!

QO-100 WB Transponder Bandplan and Operating Guidelines

Version 3 February 2021 – The following updated DATV (DVB-S2) bandplan and guidelines are designed to enable the most efficient use of the QO-100 wideband transponder (WB) for all amateur radio satellite users. Please make sure that you understand the guidelines and follow them accordingly. The use of DVB-S2 as the most efficient transmission mode is advised. Additional information and graphics may be found at: https://bit.ly/2NXQYqm

[ANS thanks Peter Gülzow, DB2OS of AMSAT-DL for the above information]

Rubins and Noguchi assemble solar array support fixtures outside ISS

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi, a Japanese astronaut who last walked in space more than 15 years ago, ventured outside the International Space Station Friday and completed assembly of two solar array support fixtures, part of a $100 million power system upgrade.

After handling multiple struts and bolts, Rubins reported a small pin-prick “hole” in one of her gloves and while there was no leakage and no emergency, she expressed concern about moving too far from Noguchi for additional work.

“There’s a hole in my right index finger through the RTV (insulation),” she told astronaut Frank Rubio in mission control. “It’s unchanged in appearance. And we have a middle finger peeling, my right middle finger, and … gaps in the RTV on my left middle finger.”

With installation of the solar array support fixtures complete, Rubio asked how she felt about leaving Noguchi, moving back to the space station airlock to drop off tools and then heading out to the European Columbus laboratory module to complete electrical connections for a recently installed experiment platform.

“This is kind of a pinprick hole versus RTV peeling,” Rubins replied. “So I’m mildly concerned about going real far from Soichi.”

Rubins’ suit maintained the proper pressure throughout, but given time lost earlier assembling the solar array supports, flight controllers opted to call it a day without pressing ahead with work to finish wiring up the experiment platform. Additional Information at: https://bit.ly/3bmvUmf

[ANS thanks William Harwood of SpaceflightNow.com for the above information]

VUCC Awards-Endorsements for March 1 2021

Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period February 1, 2021 through March 1, 2021. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month!

CALLSIGN	Feb	Mar
XE2AT	899	946
W5RKN	739	740
N3GS	679	687
NS3L	625	650
N1AIA	494	604
PS8ET	450	550
N5BO	500	525
AF5CC	461	477
N4DCW	450	476
AK7DD	390	400
VE1VOX	170	400
W8LR	328	353
KE0WPA	229	345
N6RFM	276	302
VE4MM	263	279
K8BL	274	278
AB1OC	264	267
DF2ET	129	250
F6GLJ	103	220
N8URE (FM19)	186	214
F4BKV	100	200
WD9EWK(DM23)	152	166
KN2K	New	155
N8URE (EL95)	113	134
DL6KBG	111	125
M0SKN	New	108
KC5TT	New	100
N2CJ	New	100

If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at<mycall>@<mycall>.com and I’ll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It’s a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! Ron W5RKN

[ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN for the above information]

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/

India, Brazil Launch Amazônia-1 On PSLV Rocket

The Indian Space Research Organization has launched their first mission of 2021 with a flight of their Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to deliver Brazil’s Amazônia-1 satellite, along with 18 co-passengers, into Sun-synchronous orbit.

Liftoff from First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, India, occurred Sunday, 28 February at 10:24 IST at the launch site — which is 04:54 UTC, or Saturday, 27 February at 23:54 EST.

Amazônia-1 is the first Earth observation satellite designed, built, tested, and operated completely by Brazil and is the first of three such satellites planned by the National Institute of Space Research (INPE), a Brazil’s space research and exploration company.

The 18 co-passengers, included 12 SpaceBEEs, SAI-1 Nanoconnect-2, Sindhu Netra, UNITYsat, and SDSat.

The SpaceBEEs satellites, developed by Swarm Technologies Inc., will be used for two-way satellite communication and data relay while the SAI-1 Nanoconnect-2 satellite, developed and funded by the Space Instrumentation Laboratory of the National University of Mexico, will examine the use of the GlobalStar satellite phone network as a secondary communication channel for nano-satellites.

Sindhu Netra is an Indian-developed AIS-based (automatic identification system) marine traffic monitoring satellite built by students at the People’s Education Society University’s Crucible for Research and Innovation wing. Funding was provided by the Defense Research and Development Organization of India.

Joining its other co-passengers is the UNITYSat mission — which itself contains the JITsat, GHRCESat, and SriShakthiSat satellites. The trio of satellites will form an amateur radio and IoT (Internet of Things) service satellite. The mission was developed by the Jeppiaar Institute of Technology, G. H. Raisoni College of Engineering, and the Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology. [No amateur frequency coordination records appear in the IARU satellite database for these satellites — Ed.]

SDSat (Satish Dhawan Satellite), named after the Chairman and founding father of the Indian Space Program, was developed by SpaceKidz India to measure magnetic fields and space radiation. The satellite also carries 25,000 names designed to create awareness and educate the general public about space sciences.

This was the 53rd mission for the PSLV rocket and marks the first dedicated PSLV commercial mission for New Space India Limited, an Indian government company under the Department of Space and the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organization.

[ANS thanks Spaceflight.com for the above information]

IARU Region 1 Participates in ITU WRC-23 Preparation for 23cm Allocations

The Chair of IARU Region 1 Spectrum Affairs, Barry Lewis, G4SJH reports a meeting of the ITU-R Working Party 4C (WP4C) was held between February 15 and 19 which discussed the amateur radio allocation at 1240 – 1300 MHz.

During the week 15 to 19 February, the preparatory work for WRC-23 agenda item 9.1b continued in ITU-R Working Party 4C (WP4C). The WRC agenda item has initiated technical studies on coexistence between the radio navigation satellite service (RNSS) and the amateur services in the 23 cm band. As usual, the IARU participated in the meeting and delivered key information on amateur activities in this important microwave band. This information is vital to ensure the amateur services are realistically represented in the studies as they move forward.

To assist with this the IARU Region 1 is developing supporting material that Member Societies can refer to when addressing the topic with their National Regulator. The work on this topic will continue throughout the year and beyond, both in ITU-R and in the regional telecommunications organisations, and the IARU is committed to ensure every organisation understands the amateur position on this important microwave band.

[ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa and the South African Radio League SARL News 28 February 2021 for the above information]

JAMSAT Symposium 2021 Information Posted: March 2, 2021

From Google Translate: JAMSAT will hold the annual meeting and JAMSAT Symposium 2021 as follows. This year, due to the influence of the new corona, it will be held online. The annual general meeting is for members only, and the symposium and the social gathering after the symposium are open to anyone who is interested in satellite communications. We posted the “Symposium 2021 Holding Information” earlier, but we will post it again, including the social gathering.

Date and time:
Saturday, March 20th, General Assembly (members only)
Saturday, March 20th, 9: 00-9: 45 (Reception: Posted in newsletter)
Symposium: Saturday, March 20th, 10:00 ~ 17: 45 Social gathering:
Saturday, March 20th, 18: 00 ~
Venue: ZOOM, ZOOM, free of charge, symposium

More information in Japanese available at: https://bit.ly/3uUlXEf

[ANS thanks Nao Goto of JAMSAT for the above information]

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. Come along for the ride.
The journey will be worth it!

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for March 4, 2021

The following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:
TW-1C – NORAD Cat ID 40926 (Decayed 2-27-2021 per Space-Track).

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

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

ARISS NEWS: Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2021-03-01 22:00 UTC

Sterling MS, Ashburn, VA, multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html. The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB.
Contact is go for: Tue 2021-02-09 14:44:48 UTC 66 deg
Watch for live stream at https://youtu.be/qVhBweqjCo4

Red Hill Lutheran, Tustin, CA, telebridge via NA7V
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html.
The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins KF5LJG.
Contact is go for: Wed 2021-02-10 18:26:15 UTC 65 deg.

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

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/

Upcoming Satellite Operations

Quick Hits:

Spring Training Rove! KX9X will be heading down to Ft Myers, FL the week of March 7 for some sun and baseball. Will activate EL86 & 96 holiday style for sure, possibly a couple other grids as well. Linear/FM. Details soon.

@K8BL will be in EM54 3/4 – 3/7.

Major Roves:

W7LT: DN04/05/14/15/24/25/27/28/34/35/37/38/47/48 schedule … subject to change due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances. Will try to stick to it as best I can. Click here for details: https://bit.ly/3q783ew

Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com Updated 03/3/2021

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information]

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? 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 and registered ARRL instructor Clint Bradford K6LCS AMSAT Ambassador and ARRL registered instructor Clint Bradford, K6LCS, is certainly keeping busy!

Think a 90-minute lively, informative, and fun “How to Work the Easy Satellites” Zoom presentation would be appropriate for your convention or club? Always includes are overviews of the ARRL, AMSAT, and ARISS … and pre-presentation questions are solicited and welcome.

Cliff reports these upcoming satellite presentation dates:
03/10 – Trenton, New Jersey
03/11 – Clearwater, Florida
03/13 – QSO TODAY 2021 Virtual Convention. See: https://bit.ly/2OkDRiV
03/16 – Palm Springs, CA
03/20 – Bonham, Texas
04/01 – Orem, Utah
06/15 – East Massachusetts

Send Clint an email message, and book a date! Contact: Clint Bradford K6LCS k6lcs at ham-sat dot info 909-999-SATS (7287)

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

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+Getting It Right: JAGSAT CubeSat Sponsor

Last week’s ANS-059 AMSAT Weekly Bulletin incorrectly reported that the 2U Cubesat JAGSAT was a project of the University of Alabama. Everyone who knows the difference between Southern grits and Minnesota lutefisk can tell you that the University of Alabama’s mascot is an elephant named “Big Al.” JAGSAT is a project of the University of Southern Alabama whose mascot is, of course, a Jaguar named Southpaw. ANS-059 Rotating Editor Frank Karnauskas, N1UW apologizes for the error.

[ ANS thanks John Klingelhoeffer, WB4LNM for catching this error.]

+ Humor and News…

+ Rocket Labs CEO eats his hat because he once said he would not fly a reusable rocket. Then came Neutron… Watch on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3c2ErtA

[ANS thanks Orbital Index and Rocket Lab for the above information]

+ SpaceX ends 3rd Starship landing attempt in flaming success before exploding minutes later

Third time’s a charm? Not so for SpaceX, whose unmanned rocket exploded on the ground Wednesday after carrying out what had seemed to be a successful flight and landing — fresh on the heels of two fiery crashes. It was yet another flub involving a prototype of the Starship rocket, which SpaceX hopes one day to send to Mars. “A beautiful soft landing,” a SpaceX commentator said on a live broadcast of the test flight, although flames were coming out at the bottom and crews were trying to put them out. The rocket exploded a few minutes later, lurching into the air and crashing back to the ground. More information may be found at: https://bit.ly/3v0x4vJ

[ANS thanks to the SpaceDaily.com staff writers for the above information]

+SpaceX sticks 75th Falcon rocket landing after launching 60 more Starlink satellites March 4, 2021

Launching through a blanket of low-hanging clouds and light mist, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thundered into the sky over Florida’s Space Coast early Thursday and delivered 60 more Starlink internet satellites to orbit. The rocket’s first stage touched down on SpaceX’s floating landing platform in the Atlantic Ocean to complete its eighth trip to space and back. Additional information at: https://bit.ly/3uTFSmX

[ANS thanks to Stephen Clark of SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information]

+ AMSAT Thanks AmazonSmile Shoppers

AmazonSmile shoppers who designated Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation as their charity have made a difference during the past holiday shopping season. AmazonSmile reports that it has deposited a total of $498.31 to the AMSAT coffers for purchases made between October 1 and December 31, 2020.

You can join the crowd and help AMSAT earn even more. Go to https://smile.amazon.com to create your account and designate “Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation” as your charity. Just remember, when you go shopping start with AmazonSmile so your purchases are credited to AMSAT. Thank you, shoppers!

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]

73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week’s ANS Editor, Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ
kd4iz at frawg dot org

ANS-059 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Feb. 28, 2021

February 28, 2021February 28, 2021 by Mark Johns

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, 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://amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

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

In this edition:

Tausat CubeSat with U/V FM Transponder Ready for Deployment from ISS
AMSAT-DL Operators Track Mars Probe
AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 25, 2021
IARU Coordinates Frequencies for Two New Satellites
23cm Band in the Spotlight with Regulators
The Perseverance Parachute’s Secret Code
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Upcoming Satellite Operations
ARISS News
Satellite Shorts from All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-059.01
ANS-059 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 059.01
From AMSAT HQ 712 H Street NE Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002
February 28, 2021
To All RADIO AMATEURS

Tausat CubeSat with U/V FM Transponder Ready for Deployment from ISS

Tausat, a 3U Cubesat is currently aboard the ISS and is scheduled for deployment in February. The CubeSat was built by the Herzliya Science Center in Israel. It carries two payloads, one being a university student research project that will examine physical space radiation. The experiment will be active for about three months. The second payload is an Amateur Radio U/V FM transponder. The UHF beacon will transmit 9k6 BPSK AX25 telemetry on a downlink frequency of 436.400 MHz. Watch for upcoming details.

[ANS thanks the IARU for the above information.]

Join the 2021 President’s Club!
Score your 2″ 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin with Polished Gold Finish,
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered “Remove Before Flight” Key Tag
By donating today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won’t want to miss it!

AMSAT-DL Operators Track Mars Probe

Members of the German AMSAT organization, AMSAT-DL, in cooperation with the Sternwarte Bochum Institute in Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, have been using the Institute’s 20-meter (65.6 foot) diameter dish antenna to listen directly to signals from probes in Mars orbit.

Signals have been copied from Tianwen-1, the Chinese spacecraft currently in Mars orbit, and from EMM/Hope, the Emirates Mars Mission, which is also orbiting Mars. Both spacecraft are transmitting in the 8.4 GHz band.

Recordings of the signals can be heard on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=413DdMua8ec&feature=emb_imp_woyt and regular updates can be seen by following @amsatdl on Twitter.

The Bochum Observatory dish was constructed in 1965 as part of the ground support network for the Apollo missions. Weighing in at 140 tons, it is protected from weather by an air dome 40 meters (131 feet) in height. In 2003, amateurs helped renovate some of the equipment, adding phase-locked receivers in the 2.3 GHz, 5.8 GHz, and 10.4 GHz amateur bands, as well as an 8.4 GHz receiver. There is also an S-band, 2.4 GHz amateur transmitter running 250 Watts PEP.

In 2006, the dish was used to copy signals from the Voyager 1 spacecraft at a distance of nearly 15 billion kilometers. Since 2009, AMSAT-DL operators have used the dish regularly to copy NASA/NOAA weather satellites. Also in 2009, the dish was used to copy planetary radar echoes bounced off the planet Venus. Since 2001, the dish has copied signals from at least a dozen different deep space probes, including Tianwen-1 and EMM/Hope.

In the summer of 2002, AMSAT Germany officially began planning and preparing to send its own space probe to the red planet. It is supposed to fly around Mars as a radio relay, take pictures, carry out scientific experiments and deposit a payload on the surface of Mars. The goal is to create a probe that can be received on amateur radio frequencies using a 2 to 3 meter parabolic antenna. Images and data would be displayed directly on your own computer with the appropriate software.

This ambitious plan is a long-term goal of AMSAT-DL, and the work of amateurs tracking the current Mars orbiters at Bochum Institute provides valuable experience toward reaching this goal.

[ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information]

AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 25, 2021

Ray Hoad, WA5QGD released updated TLE data on February 25, 2021 and is available for download at:
https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/

Also noted by Ray is that the following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from
this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:

PWSat 2 – NORAD Cat ID 43814 (Decayed 2-23-2021 per Space-Track).

For newcomers wondering about TLE’s, they are two-line element set (TLE) is a data format encoding a list of orbital elements of an Earth-orbiting object for a given point in time, the epoch. Using a suitable prediction formula, the state (position and velocity) at any point in the past or future can be estimated to some accuracy. For more information, see the Wikipedia article at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-line_element_set

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD for the above information.]

IARU Coordinates Frequencies for Two New Satellites

The International Amateur Radio Union assigned coordinated frequencies for two upcoming Amateur Radio Satellites.

– FSI-SAT1
The Institute of Future Science at the Happy Science University in Japan will fly FSI-SAT1, a 1U CubeSat carrying a SSTV camera for transmission on an FM downlink as well as multispectral wavelength cameras and reception equipment for an infra-red uplink. A UHF downlink at 437.175 will operate CW, analog SSTV, 9k6 GMSK and 1k2 AFSK. A sun synchronous orbit at 500/560 km is planned.

– JAGSAT
The University of Alabama will fly JAGSAT, a 2U CubeSat designed to measure plasma electron density in the upper F layer of the ionosphere between 400-800 km. The mission will be used to study space weather monitoring, specifically to understand and predict the effects of RF scintillation on Amateur Radio and other communication signals. A UHF downlink has been coordinated at 437.325 using 9k6 2-GFSK modulation with AX.25. JAGSAT is planned to be deployed from the ISS with other ELANA-37 missions in the second quarter of 2022.

More information on both satellites is available at: http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/

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

23cm Band in the Spotlight with Regulators

The Chair of IARU Region 1 Spectrum Affairs, Barry Lewis G4SJH, reports on the meeting of the ITU-R Working Party 4C (WP4C) on February 15-19 which discussed the amateur radio allocation at 1240-1300 MHz.

On the IARU Region 1 site he writes:

During the week February 15–19, the preparatory work for WRC-23 agenda item 9.1b continued in ITU-R Working Party 4C (WP4C). The WRC agenda item has initiated technical studies on coexistence between the radio navigation satellite service (RNSS) and the amateur services in the 23cm band. As usual, the IARU participated in the meeting and delivered key information on amateur activities in this important microwave band. This information is vital to ensure the amateur services are realistically represented in the studies as they move forward.

It remains vital that national amateur communities present their views on the importance of this band to their national regulators in a consolidated and consistent manner.

To assist with this the IARU-R1 is developing supporting material that member societies can refer to when addressing the topic with their national regulator.

The work on this topic will continue throughout the year and beyond both in ITU-R and in the regional telecommunications organizations and the IARU is committed to ensure every organization understands the amateur position on this important microwave band.

Source IARU-R1 https://www.iaru-r1.org/2021/23cm-band-in-the-spotlight-with-regulators/

The ITU-R WP4C Summary Meeting Report notes “The only administration that can be considered supportive towards proper treatment of the Amateur Services in this work is Germany”. Read the report at:
https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Report-from-WP4C_Feb-2021.docx

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

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF

The Perseverance Parachute’s Secret Code

A secret coded message was hidden on the gigantic parachute used to land the Perseverance rover safely on the surface on Mars. And no, it wasn’t a clandestine message to the Martians. It was a message of inspiration for us humans. But it also came as a challenge.

During a news briefing on February 22, Allen Chen, the entry, descent and landing lead for the mission revealed there was a secret message in the parachute.

“In addition to enabling incredible science, we hope our efforts in our engineering can inspire others,” he said. “Sometimes we leave messages in our work for others to find for that purpose, so we invite you all to give it a shot and show your work.”

Puzzle lovers around the world quickly went to work, and it didn’t take long.

Adam Steltzner, Perseverance’s chief engineer, confirmed “the internet” had cracked the code late Monday night on Twitter.

Hidden in the 70-foot (21-meter) parachute’s red and white pattern was a binary code with the phrase “Dare mighty things” – a famous expression from President Theodore Roosevelt, espoused by those who work at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The outer rings of the pattern also feature GPS coordinates for JPL’s offices in Pasadena, California: 34°11’58” N 118°10’31” W.

Chen later confirmed on Twitter that the code was the brain child of systems engineer Ian Clark, who helped conduct tests of the supersonic parachute, as well as performing several other tasks for the Perseverance rover team. Clark is a crossword hobbyist, and said only about six people knew about the coded message before this week.

Chen expressed how grateful he is for the ability to work with such creative people at JPL. “It’s a feeling of being very fortunate at the end… that I get to work at a place with people who are both great engineers and great people, and we still get to dare mighty things together,” he said at Monday’s briefing.

Secret messages on the rovers are not new. The Curiosity rover has holes in its wheels that creates marks in the Mars regolith that spells out “JPL” in Morse Code.

It was also revealed that Perseverance bears a plaque depicting all five of NASA’s Mars rovers in increasing size over the years – reminiscent of the decals on cars that portray the family riding inside.

Deputy project manager Matt Wallace said more hidden “Easter eggs” should start showing up on Perseverance when more images of the rover itself are taken and beamed back to Earth.

“Definitely, definitely should keep a good lookout,” he said.

[ANS thanks Universe Today for the above information]

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

– AMSAT Ambassador and ARRL registered instructor Clint Bradford, K6LCS has the following streaming presentations scheduled:

03/10 – Trenton, New Jersey
03/11 – Clearwater, Florida
03/13 – QSO TODAY 2021 Virtual Convention
03/16 – Palm Springs, CA
03/20 – Bonham, Texas
04/01 – Orem, Utah
06/15 – East Massachusetts

More information at: http://www.work-sat.com.

[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, for the above information.]

Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

Upcoming Satellite Operations

– EM54; March 4-7, 2021
@K8BL will be in EM54 3/4 – 3/7.

– EL86, EL96; March 7-14, 2021
Spring Training Rove! KX9X will be heading down to Ft Myers, FL the week of March 7 for some sun and baseball. Will activate EL86 & 96 holiday style for sure, possibly a couple other grids as well. Linear/FM. Details soon.

– DN04/05/14/15/24/25/27/28/34/35/37/38/47/48; March 4-10, 2021
W7LT traveling to DN04/05/14/15/24/25/27/28/34/35/37/38/47/48. Schedule is subject to change due to weather and other unforeseen circumstances. Will try to stick to it as best he can. Follow him at:
https://twitter.com/WL7T_/status/1364676616002052101.

– CM93; May 15, 2021
N6DNM claims a very long shot on CM93 but you “might want to put it on your calendar…if you can figure out where it is. For #SOTA folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once before.

– Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr (at) gmail (dot) com. List updated February 21, 2021.

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR for the above information.]

ARISS News

+ Upcoming Contacts

– Newcastle High School, Newcastle, WY
Multi-point telebridge via NA7V
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG.
Contact is go for Monday, March 1, 2021 at 16:20:56 UTC. (76 deg)
Watch for live stream at: https://youtu.be/qdQlKQK5mT4.

– Peace Corps, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Telebridge via NA7V
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG.
Contact is go for Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at 13:09:23 UTC. (27 deg)
Watch for live stream at: https://m.facebook.com/PeaceCorpsMoldova/
and https://m.facebook.com/UTMoldova/.

+ Completed Contacts

– John F Kennedy High School, Denver, CO
Multi-point telebridge via NA7V
The ISS callsign was NA1SS.
The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz.
The astronaut was Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG.
Contact was successful on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 18:41:13 UTC.

– Bishop Guertin HS, Nashua, NH
Multi-point telebridge via AB1OC
The ISS callsign was NA1SS.
The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz.
The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker, KD5DXB
Contact was successful on Friday, February 19, 2021 at 17:56:36 UTC.

– Estes Park Elementary School, Estes Park, CO
Multi-point telebridge via N0FH
The ISS callsign was NA1SS.
The downlink frequency was 145.800 MHz.
The astronaut was Shannon Walker KD5DXB.
Contact was successful on Friday, February 26, 2021 at 17:09 UTC.

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

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

Satellite Shorts from All Over

+ Inside Sunsat — A Look Back at the First-Ever South African Satellite

The South African satellite Sunsat was launched aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Base on February 23, 1999. The Sunsat mission introduced the era of space exploration in South Africa, and even on the entire continent. The satellite was constructed by post-graduate engineering students at Stellenbosch University. Niki Steenkamp, a member of the Tech team with Dragonfly Aerospace, was involved in the Sunsat program. He recently shared how the university project grew to a full-fledged mission, proving to be a unique experience for future space engineers and pioneered South African space exploration. Read the story at:
https://dragonflyaerospace.com/inside-sunsat-the-first-ever-south-african-satellite/

[ANS thanks Dragonfly Aerospace for the above information.]

+ Media Hit: JAXA to Deploy Mauritian satellite MIR-SAT1
The satellite was designed by a team of Mauritian Engineers and an experienced Radio Amateur from the Mauritius Amateur Radio Society in collaboration with experts from AAC-Clyde Space UK. Read the full article at:
https://www.broadcastprome.com/news/satellite/jaxa-to-deploy-mauritian-satellite-mir-sat1/

[ANS thanks Broadcast Pro Middle East for the above information.]

Not an AMSAT member? Join now at https://launch.amsat.org/

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President’s Club. Members of the President’s Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. President’s Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub.

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 six post-secondary years in this status. Contact info at the amsat dot org for additional student membership information.

73,
This week’s ANS Editor,
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
n1uw at amsat dot org

ANS-045 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Feb. 14, 2021

February 14, 2021 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: [email protected]

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:

What Is Keeping The NA1SS Amateur Station Off The Air?
AMSAT OSCAR-109 Update
Virtual HamCation Is this Weekend – Don’t miss AMSAT!
AMSAT 2021 President’s Club Welcomes New Members
Happy New Year on Mars!
Satellite Operating Awards Available
AMICALSAT Award Certificates Deadline Approaching
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 12, 2021
NASA Awards Contract to Launch Initial Elements for Lunar Outpost
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-045 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 045.01
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002

DATE 2021 Feb 14

What Is Keeping The NA1SS Amateur Station Off The Air?

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) and its partners are troubleshooting what is keeping the NA1SS amateur station off the air.

ARISS became aware of the problem after an attempted contact with a school in Wyoming, between ON4ISS on Earth and astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG at NA1SS, had to abort when no downlink signal was heard. ARISS has determined that the problem is not with the radio equipment on board the ISS Columbus module.

ARISS-International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, explained that during a 27 January spacewalk to install exterior cabling on the ISS Columbus module, the coax feed line installed 11 years ago was replaced with another built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus. It included two additional RF connectors to support the Bartolomeo payload-hosting platform installed last spring on Columbus.

“On 26 January, prior to the EVA [extravehicular activity], our Columbus next-generation radio system was shut off and the ISS-internal coaxial cable to the antenna was disconnected from the ARISS radio as a safety precaution for the EVA,” Bauer said. “During the spacewalk, an external four-connector coax feed line replaced one with two RF connections. This change was made to allow ESA to connect ARISS and three additional customers to Bartolomeo, as compared to ARISS and one additional RF customer,” Bauer explained.

With the spacewalk completed, the ISS crew restarted the ISS amateur radio station on 28 January, but no voice repeater or automatic packet repeater system (APRS) downlink reports were heard and no downlink signal was heard during an attempted scheduled school contact either. Bauer said that because the exterior cable is not an ARISS cable, ARISS is working with ESA and NASA on a way forward. “NASA has opened a Payload Anomaly Report on this issue. We have talked to both the NASA and ESA representatives,” Bauer said.

[ANS thanks Southgate Amateur Radio New for this excellent summary of previously reported information]

AMSAT OSCAR-109 Update

The RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E CubeSat has been designated as AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109). AMSAT engineering and operations teams appreciate the satellite community’s cooperation to date and reiterated their request that users not attempt to use the transponder until further notice. “The proper identification will allow further characterization of the satellite’s condition through additional testing,” AMSAT concluded.

RadFXSat-2/Fox-1E was launched on January 17 on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne, which carried 10 other satellites into space. AO-109 carries an inverting linear transponder, with uplink at 145.860 MHz – 145.890 MHz, and downlink at 435.760 MHz – 435.790 MHz. Telemetry will downlink on 435.750 MHz.

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

Virtual HamCation Is this Weekend – Don’t miss AMSAT!

HamCation 2021 is a virtual ‘Online Only’ event this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, February 13th and 14th.

AMSAT will provide three virtual presentations on Sunday:

* 10:00 AM (EST) AMSAT CubeSat Simulator, Alan Johnston KU2Y, AMSAT VP of Educational Relations

* 12:00 AM (EST) AMSAT, Onward and Upward, Robert Bankston KE4AL, AMSAT President

* 1:00 PM (EST) AMSAT Engineering Update, Jerry Buxton N0JY, AMSAT VP of Engineering.

NOTE: > All times are Eastern Standard Time (UTC -05:00)

Be sure to check out the full schedule for other topics of interest.

https://www.hamcation.com/forums-speakers

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

AMSAT 2021 President’s Club Welcomes New Members

The following new members of the AMSAT 2021 President’s Club have been added as of January 31, 2021. We thank them for their generous support and helping to keep Amateur Radio in Space!

Core Level
Gerald Buxton, N0JY
Dale Peer, KF7ZBK
Alston Simpson, WA5TJB
Carl Starnes, W4EAT
Richard Steegstra, K1LKR

Bronze Level
Anton Giroux, KF3BX
Edward F. Krome, K9EK

Silver Level
W. Fisher, WB1FJ
Mark Hammond, N8MH
Joseph Lynch, N6CL
Ronald Parsons, W5RKN
David A. Vine, WA1EAW

Gold Level
Barry Baines, WD4ASW

Titanium Level
William Brown

All members receive a full color certificate, 2″ commemorative coin with four accent colors and gold polished finish, and an embroidered “REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT” key tag. Members at Silver level and above receive a handsome acrylic desk plaque and tickets for symposium events.

Join the AMSAT 2021 President’s Club today at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/.

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

Happy New Year on Mars!

The countdown to a new year is in many ways a defining moment for our lives on Earth. Our age, our seasons, filing our taxes, all depend on the duration of Earth’s orbit around the Sun. On Mars, there are no yearly tax returns, but as the planet also orbits around our Sun, time on Mars is similarly measured in years. However, there are some significant differences between a year on Mars and a year on Earth. February 7, 2021 marked what scientists here on Earth consider the start of Year 36 on Mars. Let’s look at some similarities and differences between a year on the two planets:

* One year on Mars equals 687 Earth days. It takes almost twice as long as our Earth to orbit the Sun. This means your age would be a lot less if you lived on Mars! If you would like to feel younger, just divide your current age by 1.88 and casually mention to your friends that that’s your real age…on Mars.

* A Martian day is defined, like on Earth, as the time it takes for the planet to make one revolution around its axis. This is called a sol. A sol is only slightly longer than an Earth day: 24 hours and 39 minutes.

* Mars has four seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn. They are defined by the planet’s position along its orbit around the Sun. The Martian New Year begins with the northward equinox (northern spring, southern autumn). As Mars travels through its yearly trajectory, the planet’s axial tilt causes the northern hemisphere to receive more sunlight during the northern summer, and the southern hemisphere to receive more sunlight in northern winter – just like on Earth. Unlike Earth’s seasons however, the seasons on Mars are not of equal lengths. This is because the orbit of Mars around the Sun is more elliptical than that of Earth. For example, the northern hemisphere spring (southern hemisphere autumn) lasts the longest, 194 sols, and the northern hemisphere autumn (southern hemisphere spring) is the shortest season at 142 sols.

* Mars’ elliptical orbit can have important consequences. During southern spring and summer, Mars swings by the sun closer and faster. The resulting increase in luminosity heats up the atmosphere, causing turbulence to lift up very fine particles from the Martian soil. For this reason, the second half of a Martian year is often marked by fierce dust storms that can sometimes become planet-wide.

* Like on Earth, winters are cold and summers are warm on Mars, but the planet’s overall temperature is a lot cooler, it has a yearly average temperature of minus 60 degrees Celsius. The planet experiences different weather phenomena throughout the seasons. A weather phenomenon that reappears every year around the southern spring and summer is the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud, a cloud of ice crystals that can reach up to 1800 kilometres in length. It repeats for at least 80 sols and then disappears again during the rest of the year.

* The Martian calendar began fairly recently compared to the one on Earth. The count started in Earth year 1955. This first Martian year coincided with a very large dust storm in its second half, aptly named ‘the great dust storm of 1956.’

If you’re looking for a reason to celebrate, here’s to a Happy New Mars Year!

[ANS thanks the European Space Agency for the above information]

Satellite Operating Awards Available

Awards are a big part of amateur radio in all of its various manifestations, and the same is true for satellite operations. There are a number of awards that are available for all your hard work on the satellites. AMSAT sponsors a number of these awards, and others are available from other amateur organizations. You may not have even known about some of them, and may have enough QSL cards to qualify now!

AMSAT’s Satellite Communicators’ Club award is given to any operator for having made their first satellite contact. To apply for this, and other AMSAT awards, you should go to the AMSAT.ORG online store and purchase the award. After completing your purchase, email the AMSAT Awards Manager, kk5do AT amsat DOT org that you have made the purchase and supplying the necessary proof of contacts.

The Oscar Satellite Communications Achievement Award is for working 20 contacts, on any satellite or combination of satellites, in 20 different states, DXCC countries or Canadian Call Areas. Those that have the RAC CANDADAWARD or ARRL WAS with satellite endorsements, may submit a copy of their certificate as proof of working the 13 Canadian Call Areas or 50 U.S. States. All QSOs must be completed from locations separated by no more than 50 miles or 80 kilometers.

The Oscar Sexagesimal Award is the same as the Oscar Satellite Communications Achievement Award but is given for 60 contacts. All the qualifications and costs are the same.

Next there is the Oscar Century Award. This is the same as the other two awards but is for 100 contacts. Qualifications and costs are the same. Please note that the previous 3 awards are aggregated. Once you have worked your 20, that applies towards your 60 so you only need 40 more contacts. The same is true for the 100, once you get your 60, you only need 40 more for your 100.

The AMSAT Rover Award is given to those intrepid souls who make our grid counts possible. It is based on a rather complex point system, which is detailed at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-rover-award/

Finally, AMSAT offers the Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Satellite Operator Achievement Award. It is awarded for the submission of 1,000 satellite contacts on OSCAR-6 or later satellites. There is an endorsement for each additional 1,000 and a special certificate at 5,000.

For details on each of the AMSAT awards and how to apply for them, see the AMSAT website at https://www.amsat.org/awards-2/

In addition, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) offers many of their operating awards with satellite endorsements for those who complete the necessary contacts exclusively using satellites. These include the VHF/UHF Century Club (VUCC) for working 100 different grid squares, and the Worked All States (WAS) for confirmed contact stations in each of the 50 states. Those up for a particular challenge can shoot for the Worked All Continents (WAC) for contacting stations on each of the 8 continents, and DX Century Club (DXCC) for contacting 100 different DXCC countries on satellite.

For details on the ARRL awards, begin the search by consulting http://www.arrl.org/awards/

Satellite operating success can earn some impressive wallpaper!

[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Awards Manager, for the above information]

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF

AMICALSAT Award Certificates Deadline Approaching

Diplomas for the AMICALSAT satellite are being sent out. If you have not yet requested yours, you can do so before 28/02/2021.

The satellite has been active since September 3, 2020. The launch of the Vega rocket went well. According to the project team, the commissioning of the satellite is in progress and is proceeding normally. The team has succeeded in stabilizing the satellite and is beginning to test image capture and retrieval.

The contributions of radio amateurs have been very important for the project. This has contributed to the commissioning of the satellite. In the case of AMICALSAT, it is possible to send telemetry to the dashboard hosted by the Satnogs network via

a Satnogs station
the AMICALSAT Decoder software provided by AMSAT-F at https://bit.ly/3pdTvcm
the software edited by DK3WN (TLM Forwarder)

Data from AMICALSAT Decoder is also sent to the AMSAT-F database (https://amsat.electrolab.fr/). To date, more than 42 radio amateurs from all over the world have contributed more than 28,000 telemetry frames.

In order to thank the radio amateurs who have sent telemetry via AMICALSAT Decoder software before December 31, 2020, AMSAT-F will issue a diploma.

Rules for issuing the diploma

The diploma in electronic format will be given to all radio amateurs or earphones that have received data from the Amicalsat satellite and sent these data to the AMSAT-F database with the “AMICALSAT Decoder” software.

Depending on the number of data received on the AMSAT-F database (https://amsat.electrolab.fr/), the nature of the diploma will be different depending on the number of frames received before December 31, 2020 23:59 UTC :

GOLD Diploma for persons having sent more than 5000 frames to the AMSAT-F database.
Silver Diploma for those who have sent between 2500 & 4999 frames to the AMSAT-F database.
Bronze Diploma: for those who have sent between 500 & 2499 frames to the AMSAT-F database.
Diploma without mention for persons having sent between 1 & 499 frames to the AMSAT-F database

The request for a diploma is done by sending an email to [email protected] indicating your callsign or the name given in the AMSAT-F database to send the data.

Only the received frames actually registered on https://amsat.electrolab.fr/ will be taken into account.

[ANS thanks Christophe Mercier, AMSAT-F president, for the above information]

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 11, 2021

RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E) has been renamed as AO-109 in this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution as follows:

AO-109 – NORAD Cat ID 47311.
As of February 7, 2021 RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E) was designated AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109) by Mark Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Director and Command Station.

The following satellite has been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:

YUSAT-1 – NORAD Cat ID 47439.
Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, for this satellite identification.

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

NASA Awards Contract to Launch Initial Elements for Lunar Outpost

NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for the agency’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), the foundational elements of the Gateway. As the first long-term orbiting outpost around the Moon, the Gateway is critical to supporting sustainable astronauts missions under the agency’s Artemis program.

After integration on Earth, the PPE and HALO are targeted to launch together no earlier than May 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The total cost to NASA is approximately $331.8 million, including the launch service and other mission-related costs.

The PPE is a 60-kilowatt class solar electric propulsion spacecraft that also will provide power, high-speed communications, attitude control, and the capability to move the Gateway to different lunar orbits, providing more access to the Moon’s surface than ever before.

The HALO is the pressurized living quarters where astronauts who visit the Gateway, often on their way to the Moon, will work. It will provide command and control and serve as the docking hub for the outpost. HALO will support science investigations, distribute power, provide communications for visiting vehicles and lunar surface expeditions, and supplement the life support systems aboard Orion, NASA’s spacecraft that will deliver Artemis astronauts to the Gateway.

About one-sixth the size of the International Space Station, the Gateway will function as a way station, located tens of thousands of miles at its farthest distance from the lunar surface, in a near-rectilinear halo orbit. It will serve as a rendezvous point for Artemis astronauts traveling to lunar orbit aboard Orion prior to transit to low-lunar orbit and the surface of the Moon. From this vantage, NASA and its international and commercial partners will conduct unprecedented deep space science and technology investigations.

NASA’s Launch Services Program at Kennedy will manage the SpaceX launch service. The HALO is being designed and built by Northrop Grumman Space Systems of Dulles, Virginia, and the PPE is being built by Maxar Technologies of Westminster, Colorado. NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston manages the Gateway program for the agency. NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is responsible for management of the PPE.

Learn more about NASA’s Gateway program at: https://nasa.gov/gateway

Learn more about NASA’s Artemis program at: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]

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/

ARISS NEWS

Due to antenna problems reported earlier, upcoming ARISS contacts are probably going to be via the Kenwood TM-D710E radio located in the Service Module. You may or may not notice a difference in signal when compared to the Kenwood TM-710GA that is in the Columbus module.

A contact with Bishop Guertin High School, Nashua, NH, multi-point telebridge via AB1OC, is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 19 at 17:56:36 UTC. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS and the scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker, KD5DXB. Maximum elevation will be 33 degrees. Watch for live stream at: https://youtu.be/0-Dsel4_7gM

Congratulations to NA7V for his first ARISS contact as an ARISS telebridge station! The contact with Red Hill Lutheran School of Tustin, Calif. was completed on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Astronaut Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, operating with the station callsign of NA1SS, made contact at 18:26 UTC on a pass with maximum elevation of 65 degrees. Congratulations to the Red Hill Lutheran students and Mike!

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

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

Upcoming Satellite Operations

Quick Hits:

****Watch Twitter, there are lots pop-up roves happening lately, and I can’t keep this page updated with all of them.****

N6UA: I’ve had enough of the arctic zephyr … I’m headed south. I don’t have exact details yet – but the plan is to rove to DM74 for passes on February 19th. I’ll be overnight, so plenty of opportunities. Probably headed down via the “7s” and home into the “8s”

AD0HJ will be in EN23 2/11 & 2/12.

KE0PBR: EL87 Holiday Style FM only Week of 2/14… Might want to reach out if you need it.

Major Roves:

Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com

[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.

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

QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo; March 13,14 2021
The second QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo will be held on March 13-14, 2021. There is an Amateur Radio speaker track and AMSAT will have a virtual booth during the event. Advance tickets are now on sale. More information at: https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/

[ANS thanks Virtual QSO Ham Expo for the above information.]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ NASA will provide live coverage on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app of the launch and docking of a Russian cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station beginning at 11:15 p.m. EST Sunday, Feb. 14. The unpiloted Russian Progress 77 is scheduled to launch on a Soyuz rocket at 11:45 p.m. (10:45 a.m. Monday, Feb. 15, Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)

+ U.A.E’s Hope (Al Amal) orbiter arrived at Mars on Feb. 9, firing its thrusters for 27 minutes to successfully enter Martian orbit. The U.A.E. is the first Arab country, and the fifth overall, to reach the planet. Meanwhile, China’s Tianwen-1 entered Martian orbit on Feb. 10 for a period of checkout before a planned release of its instrument-laden lander and rover sometime in May. And next week, on Thursday, Feb. 18, NASA’s Perseverance rover will slam into Mars’ atmosphere at hypersonic velocities and eventually find itself sitting alone on the surface seven minutes later (hopefully all in one piece). The Mars fleet is arriving! (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ After an incredible 43 years and 22 billion kilometers, Voyager 1 and 2 are still delivering science (which takes 21 hours to reach us at the speed of light). Using data from both craft, scientists have found evidence for electrons getting reflected off of shockwaves created by our Sun’s coronal mass ejections, which then spiral along interstellar magnetic field lines while accelerating to great speeds (scientific paper at https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/abc337). (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ NASA announced Feb. 9 it wants to obtain a seat on the next Soyuz mission to the International Space Station, launching in just two months, to ensure a U.S. presence on the station in the event of any commercial crew delays. There are no known issues with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, one of which is currently docked to the station for the Crew-1 mission. “Experience has shown that new launch capabilities may encounter unanticipated delays or difficulties maintaining initial schedules,” NASA noted. (ANS thanks Space News for the above information)

+ If there’s an advanced extraterrestrial civilization inhabiting a nearby star system, we might be able to detect it using its own atmospheric pollution, according to new NASA research. The study looked at the presence of nitrogen dioxide gas (NO2), which on Earth is produced by burning fossil fuels. In their study, the team used computer modeling to predict whether NO2 pollution would produce a signal that is practical to detect with current and planned telescopes. They found that for an Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star, a civilization producing the same amount of NO2 as ours could be detected up to about 30 light-years away. Since NO2 is also produced naturally, scientists will have to carefully analyze an exoplanet to see if there is an excess that could be attributed to a technological society. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information)

+ U.S. astronauts living aboard the ISS orbital outpost, on Feb. 14, will break the record for most days in space by a crew launched aboard an American spacecraft, NASA said. “They will surpass the record of 84 days set by the Skylab 4 crew on Feb. 8, 1974”, NASA said. Four flight engineers – Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP, Victor Glover, KI5BKC, Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG – docked the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to the US module last November. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information)

/EX

73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week’s ANS Editor, Mark Johns, K0JM
k0jm at amsat dot org