Registration Now Open for the 42nd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting
Call for Papers
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org
Registration Now Open for the 42nd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting
The 42nd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday through Saturday, October 25-26, 2024, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront in Tampa, Florida.
Highlights of all scheduled events include:
AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting, October 24-25
42nd AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting, October 25-26
Friday Night Social and Auction, October 25
AMSAT Banquet and Reception, October 26
AMSAT Ambassador Breakfast (all are welcome), October 27
Note – if you wish to register guests for the banquet and/or breakfast who are not attending the Symposium sessions, you must register for each event separately and include your guests with your banquet and breakfast tickets.
If you are interested in presenting or submitting a paper for inclusion in the Symposium Proceedings, please see the Call for Papers.
IMPORTANT: The deadline for Symposium registrations if you want to include the Saturday evening banquet or Sunday breakfast is Friday, October 18th. Meals cannot be ordered after that date.
The rate for a standard room with two Queen beds is $169.00 plus state and local taxes of 14.5%. Rooms may be available for check-in on Wednesday, October 23 and check out Sunday, October 27.
8:00 AM – 12:00 Noon AMSAT Board Meeting (Closed Session)
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM Registration
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM AMSAT Symposium Kickoff, President’s Welcome
1:15 PM – 5:00 PM Paper Sessions
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM Informal Dinner on your own
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM AMSAT Reception and Auction, Cash Bar Available
Saturday, October 26, 2024
8:00 AM – 11:45 AM Registration
8:00 AM – 8:15 AM AMSAT Symposium Welcome
8:15 AM – 12:00 Noon Paper Sessions
1:00 PM – 3:15 PM Paper Sessions
3:30 PM – 4:45 PM AMSAT Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM Attitude Adjustment (Social), Cash Bar
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM AMSAT Banquet, Cash Bar
Sunday, October 27, 2024
7:30 AM – 9:00 AM AMSAT Ambassador Breakfast (All are welcome)
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Symposium Committee for the above information]
Call for Papers
This is the first callforpapersfor the 42nd annual AMSAT Space Symposium to be held on the weekend of October 25-27, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront in Tampa, Florida.
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 18 for inclusion in the symposium proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be
sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV at [email protected]
[ANS thanks Dan Schultz, N8FGV, AMSAT Symposium Proceedings Editor for the above information]
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 Contributing Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm [at] arrl.net
ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002
Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for July 19, 2024
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
AMSAT Ambassador Activities
Satellite Shorts From All Over
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org
Mark your calendar now for the 2024 AMSAT Symposium,
October 25-27, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront in Tampa, Florida!
Watch for announcements concerning further details as plans are formulated.
AMSAT Board of Directors Election Underway
The nomination period for the 2024 AMSAT Board of Directors Election ended on June 15th. The following candidates have been duly nominated:
Mark Hammond, N8MH
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
Bruce Paige, KK5DO
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
Douglas Tabor, N6UA
As three seats on the Board of Directors are up for election this year, the three candidates receiving the largest number of votes shall be declared elected to the seats. The two candidates receiving the next largest number of votes shall be declared First Alternate and Second Alternate, respectively.
The voting process is now underway. AMSAT members can find candidate statements and electronic voting information on AMSAT’s Wild Apricot Membership Portal.
The voting period will conclude on September 15th and results will be announced no later than September 30th.
[ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary for the above information]
AMSAT Mail Alias Service to End August 31, 2024
A long-standing member service, the AMSAT Mail Alias Service is scheduled to end on August 31, 2024. A mail alias on AMSAT.ORG permitted people to send an email to members without knowing their actual internet email address. They just needed to know their amateur radio callsign.
Unfortunately, the unchecked rise in domain name hacking and email account high-jacking has made it impossible to sustain this service at a cost-effective level. The number of [email protected] email accounts that had been hijacked and converted to zombie spam accounts over the years had led many internet service providers and gateway centers to ban all @amsat.org email addresses, including those business accounts of AMSAT officers and officials. The tireless efforts of AMSAT’s all volunteer IT staff has worked for years to repair much of the damage, but AMSAT still get complaints from members who are not getting their personal emails, ANS bulletins or AMSAT-BB posts because of persistent delivery problems.
It has come to the point where the AMSAT volunteer IT staff can no longer keep up with the maintenance requirements to keep the alias mail list clean and to work with email gateways to remove blocks. And, after considerable investigation into alternative paid email services, AMSAT leadership decided that the money required to keep an email alias system alive would be better spent on building and flying satellites for its members.
Persons using the Mail Alias Service should begin to migrate to different email accounts so they do not lose receipt of personal emails, AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins, AMSAT-BB posts, or official messages from AMSAT itself. Members are especially asked to make sure they are NOT using a [email protected] as their registered email address in the AMSAT membership portal. Members can easily change their registered member email address by logging into the portal and updating their profile.
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]
Tevel Satellites Nearing Re-Entry
The Tevel series of satellites is approaching re-entry, with Tevel-5 already re-entering on July 18th.
The Tevel mission consists of 8 satellites developed by the Herzliya Science Center in Israel, each carrying an FM transponder. The satellites were built by 8 schools in different parts of Israel and launched in January 2022 on the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-3 mission.
A number of other satellites with amateur radio payloads are also re-entering shortly. A list of satellites approaching re-entry can be found at http://lu7aa.org/decay.asp
[ANS thanks Herzliya Science Center, AMSAT Argentina, and LU7AA for the above information]
The 2024 Coins Are Here Now!
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus. Join the AMSAT President’s Club today!
AMSAT-OSCAR 7 in Continuous Sunlight
AMSAT-OSCAR 7, soon to celebrate its 50th birthday on November 15, 2024, is now in a period of continuous sunlight through May 22, 2027.
While in continuous sunlight, the satellite’s internal timer is expected to switch between the two transponders – Mode A (29 MHz downlink and 145 MHz uplink) and Mode B (145 MHz downlink and 29 MHz uplink) every 24 hours.
Post reports and check current status on the AMSAT Live OSCAR Satellite Status Page. After a few days in continuous sunlight, it should be possible to determine the actual or approximate time the satellite switches.
[ANS thanks AMSAT and EA1PA for the above information]
Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for July 19, 2024
Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/
The following satellites have been removed from this week’s AMSAT TLE distribution:
MESAT1 remains on this distribution. No signals have been detected from any other amateur spacecraft launched as part of NASA’s ELaNa 43 mission.
ELaNa 43 OBJECT A NORAD Cat ID 60203 No amateur signal detected
ELaNa 43 OBJECT B NORAD Cat ID 60204 No amateur signal detected
ELaNa 43 OBJECT C NORAD Cat ID 60205 No amateur signal detected
ELaNa 43 OBJECT D NORAD Cat ID 60206 No amateur signal detected
ELaNa 43 OBJECT E NORAD Cat ID 60207 No amateur signal detected
ELaNa 43 OBJECT F NORAD Cat ID 60208 No amateur signal detected
ELaNa 43 OBJECT H NORAD Cat ID 60210 No amateur signal detected
Zhou Enlai NORAD Cat ID 43156 Decayed from orbit on or about 17 July 2024
TEVEL-5 NORAD Cat ID 50998 Decayed from orbit on or about 18 July 2024
The following satellites have been added to this week’s AMSAT TLE distribution:
GRBBeta NORAD Cat ID 60236 IARU coordinated downlinks on 145.935 MHz, 436.785 MHz and 2405.000 MHz
ROBUSTA-3A NORAD Cat ID 60241 IARU coordinated 9k6 GMSK with AX.25 downlink on 436.750 MHz
Thanks to Nico PA0DLO for identifying the two new spacecraft.
[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]
Need new satellite antennas?
Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the AMSAT Store!
When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
ARISS News
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.
Aznakaevsky district schools of the Republic of Tatarstan, Tatarstan Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember is Aleksandr Grebyonkin RZ3DSE
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR
Contact is go for Sat 2024-07-27 13:45 UTC
Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, AZ, telebridge via AB1OC
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Matthew Dominick KCØTOR
The ARISS mentor is K4RGK
Contact is go: Sat 2024-07-27 18:24:08 UTC 41 deg
As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.
The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down), If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know.
Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time.
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information]
Upcoming Satellite Operations
A growing number of satellite rovers are currently engaged in sharing their grid square activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the website, you gain easy access to comprehensive information about the operators responsible for activating specific grid squares. Additionally, you have the ability to assess the match score between yourself and a particular rover for a given pass, while also being able to identify the upcoming satellite passes that are accessible from your location.
N8MR will be in EN57, with roves to EN67 from Aug 2 thru Aug 10. Icom 9700, Arrow and Alaskan (IO-117) antennas. Listening for Europe on linear eastern passes, at least two of these on CW. Can operate CW for NA ops, if anyone wants it. I can rove to EN56, only if needed. Posting passes to http://hams.at a day in advance. All QSOs to LoTW as N8MR.
[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, for the above information]
Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get an AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
AMSAT Ambassador Activities
AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.
AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says,
“Think a 75-minute presentation on “working the easy satellites” would be appropriate for your club or event? Let me know by emailing me at k6lcsclint (at) gmail (dot) com or calling me at 909-999-SATS (7287)!”
Clint has NEVER given the exact same show twice: EACH of the 150+ presentations so far has been customized/tailored to their audiences.
Scheduled Events
2024 KARS / ARRL Idaho State Convention August 3, 2024
Post Falls, ID
K7SYS
Huntsville Hamfest August 17-18, 2024
Huntsville, AL
AMSAT Booth and Forum
N8DEU and W4FCL
Northeast HamXpostion August 22-25, 2024
Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road W
Marlborough, MA 01752
Greater Louisville Hamfest September 7, 2024
Shepherdsville, KY
AMSAT Forum and Information Table
W4FCL
Central Kentucky Hamfest October 5, 2024
Lexington, KY
AMSAT and Educational Satellites Forum and Information Table
AI4SR and W4FCL
North Star Radio Convention October 5, 2024
Hennepin Technical College (North Campus)
Brooklyn Park, Minn.
AMSAT Forum and Information Table
KØJM and ADØHJ
2024 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting October 25-27, 2024
Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront
3050 N Rocky Point Dr W
Tampa, FL 33607
Stone Mountain Hamfest, ARRL State Convention November 2-3, 2024
Stone Mountain, GA
K4RGK
[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director – AMSAT Ambassador Program, for the above information]
Satellite Shorts from All Over
+ XW-2B has recently returned to reliable service. XW-2B has an inverting linear transponder with an uplink of 435.090-435.110 MHz and a downlink of 145.730-145.750 MHz.
+ SpaceX’s Falcon 9 suffered a rare failure on July 11th when the upper stage “experienced an anomaly and was unable to complete its second burn,” trapping 20 Starlink satellites in an unusably low orbit. More information at https://spacenews.com/starlink-satellites-lost-on-falcon-9-upper-stage-failure/ (ANS thanks SpaceNews for the information)
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:
Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate.
Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.
Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
This week’s ANS Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm [at] amsat.org
ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002
ELaNa 43 Launch Carrying MESAT-1 Scheduled for June 27, 2024
AMSAT Board of Directors Nominees Announced
AMSAT Mail Alias Service to End August 1, 2024
Video of AMSAT Engineering Q&A Sessions Available
Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for June 21, 2024
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
AMSAT Ambassador Activities
Satellite Shorts From All Over
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org
Mark your calendar now for the 2024 AMSAT Symposium,
October 25-27, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront in Tampa, Florida!
Watch for announcements concerning further details as plans are formulated.
ELaNa 43 Launch Carrying MESAT-1 Scheduled for June 27, 2024
The University of Maine’s MESAT-1 carrying a telemetry transmitter and linear transponder provided by AMSAT and experiments designed by schools in Maine will head into orbit as early as late this week as part of NASA’s ELaNa 43 launch.
The ELaNa 43 (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites 43) mission includes eight CubeSats flying on Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket for its “Noise of Summer” launch from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The 30-minute launch window will open at 9 p.m. PDT Wednesday, June 26 (12 a.m. EDT Thursday, June 27).
Telemetry can be received using the same FoxTelem program that was used for most of AMSAT’s recent payloads. We urge readers to download the latest FoxTelem (V1.12z3) from https://www.amsat.org/tlm/leaderboard.php?id=0&db=FOXDB. This program will decode telemetry from MESAT-1 (as well as AO-91) and forward the results to AMSAT’s central server for use by AMSAT engineering as well as by Maine engineers and students.
MESAT-1 will study local temperatures across city and rural areas to determine phytoplankton concentration in bodies of water to help predict algal blooms and also contains a linear transponder for amateurs to use. Watch ANS and other media for information about when the transponder will be activated.
[ANS thanks NASA and AMSAT Engineering for the above information]
AMSAT Board of Directors Nominees Announced
The nomination period for the 2024 AMSAT Board of Directors Election ended on June 15th. The following candidates have been duly nominated:
Mark Hammond, N8MH
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
Bruce Paige, KK5DO
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
Douglas Tabor, N6UA
As three seats on the Board of Directors are up for election this year, the three candidates receiving the largest number of votes shall be declared elected to the seats. The two candidates receiving the next largest number of votes shall be declared First Alternate and Second Alternate, respectively. The voting process will be conducted via AMSAT’s Wild Apricot membership system and will commence on July 15th. Instructions for voting will be emailed to all members in good standing as of July 1st by July 15th. The voting period shall conclude on September 15th and results will be announced not later than September 30th.
Biographies of the candidates will be available for review online and published in the next edition of The AMSAT Journal.
[ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information]
AMSAT Mail Alias Service to End August 1, 2024
A long-standing member service, the AMSAT Mail Alias Service is scheduled to end on August 1, 2024. A mail alias on AMSAT.ORG permitted people to send an email to members without knowing their actual internet email address. They just needed to know their amateur radio callsign.
Unfortunately, the unchecked rise in domain name hacking and email account high-jacking has made it impossible to sustain this service at a cost-effective level. The number of [email protected] email accounts that had been hijacked and converted to zombie spam accounts over the years had led many internet service providers and gateway centers to ban all @amsat.org email addresses, including those business accounts of AMSAT officers and officials. The tireless efforts of AMSAT’s all volunteer IT staff has worked for years to repair much of the damage, but AMSAT still get complaints from members who are not getting their personal emails, ANS bulletins or AMSAT-BB posts because of persistent delivery problems.
It has come to the point where the AMSAT volunteer IT staff can no longer keep up with the maintenance requirements to keep the alias mail list clean and to work with email gateways to remove blocks. And, after considerable investigation into alternative paid email services, AMSAT leadership decided that the money required to keep an email alias system alive would be better spent on building and flying satellites for its members.
Persons using the Mail Alias Service should begin to migrate to different email accounts so they do not lose receipt of personal emails, AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins, AMSAT-BB posts, or official messages from AMSAT itself. Members are especially asked to make sure they are NOT using a [email protected] as their registered email address in the AMSAT membership portal. Members can easily change their registered member email address by logging into the portal and updating their profile.
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]
Video of AMSAT Engineering Q&A Sessions Available
AMSAT Vice President – Engineering, Jerry Buxton, NØJY, hosted Q&A “social gathering” live streams on YouTube and Twitch, as he mentioned in his Hamvention “They Cancelled All My Flights” video where he followed up and answered questions on developments with GOLF, Fox Plus, and other projects.
Note: If you read this at the time of publication, the final session may be ongoing as it is scheduled to run from 00:01 UTC to 02:00 UTC on Sunday, June 23rd.
[ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President – Engineering, for the above information]
The 2024 Coins Are Here Now!
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus. Join the AMSAT President’s Club today!
Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for June 21, 2024
Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/
This week there are no additions or deletions to the AMSAT TLE distribution.
[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]
Need new satellite antennas?
Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the AMSAT Store!
When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
ARISS News
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.
Complejo Educativo Nuestra Señora de Fátima N° 1139 and N° 8119, Pérez, Argentina, Telebridge via VK6MJ
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Jeanette Epps KF5QNU
The ARISS mentor is VE6JBJ
Contact is go for: Thu 2024-06-27 13:38:07 UTC 56 deg
As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.
The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down), If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know.
Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time.
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information]
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Quick Hits:
From Randy, ND0C:
From 24 June thru 7 July, we will be on another family camping vacation, which means another satellite roving expedition! This time, thru WI to MI and back thru IL and IA. No super rare grids but several that may be needed by many. The grids and passes will depend on where/when we happen to be while on the road or camping. This will be all LEO sats: FM & SSB. As always, I will try for EU passes on RS-44 when possible. Looking forward to pushing past the 100 grids-roved milestone. More info to come.
I will be in EN57, with roves to EN67 from Friday, June 28 thru Saturday, July 6. Using an Icom 9700, Arrow and Alaskan antennas. Listening for Europe on linear eastern passes. I can rove to EN56, only if needed. Posting passes to hams.at a day in advance. All QSOs to LoTW as N8MR.
HB0/DK9JC should be QRV from JN47 on GreenCube/IO-117 on 26th June. See hams.at for any updates.
Major Roves:
VP5/AA5UK will be QRV from FL31 from 23rd June through 5th July. This operation will be holiday style but will cover HF/LEO/MEO. Head over to his VP5/AA5UK QRZ page for all the info you can shake a stick at.
[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, and Alex Ners, K6VHF, for the above information]
Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get an AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
AMSAT Ambassador Activities
AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.
AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says,
“Think a 75-minute presentation on “working the easy satellites” would be appropriate for your club or event? Let me know by emailing me at k6lcsclint (at) gmail (dot) com or calling me at 909-999-SATS (7287)!”
Clint has NEVER given the exact same show twice: EACH of the 150+ presentations so far has been customized/tailored to their audiences.
Scheduled Events
“Moon Day” Frontiers of Flight Museum
July 20, 2024
Love Field in Dallas, Texas
AMSAT volunteers needed! Contact tschuessler(at) amsat.org for more information.
Huntsville Hamfest August 17-18, 2024
Huntsville, AL
AMSAT Booth and Forum
N8DEU and W4FCL
Northeast HamXpostion August 22-25, 2024
Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road W
Marlborough, MA 01752
Greater Louisville Hamfest September 7, 2024
Shepherdsville, KY
AMSAT Forum and Information Table
W4FCL
Central Kentucky Hamfest October 5, 2024
Lexington, KY
AMSAT and Educational Satellites Forum and Information Table
AI4SR and W4FCL
North Star Radio Convention October 5, 2024
Hennepin Technical College (North Campus)
Brooklyn Park, Minn.
AMSAT Forum and Information Table
KØJM and ADØHJ
2024 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting October 25-27, 2024
Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront
3050 N Rocky Point Dr W
Tampa, FL 33607
[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, and AMSAT for the above information]
Satellite Shorts from All Over
+ If you participated in AMSAT Field Day, remember to submit your summary sheet and any photos or comments by July 23, 2024. Submission details can be found at https://www.amsat.org/field-day/
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:
Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate.
Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.
Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
This week’s ANS Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm [at] amsat.org
ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002
Project OSCAR Discontinues Operations, Donates Remaining Funds to AMSAT
Nominations Open for 2024 AMSAT Board of Directors Election
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for May 24, 2024
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
The news feed on https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org
Mark your calendar now for the 2024 AMSAT Symposium,
October 25-27, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront in Tampa, Florida!
Watch for announcements concerning further details as plans are formulated.
Hamvention 2024 a Success for AMSAT
Hamvention 2024 was held this past weekend at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia, OH. It was a busy weekend at the AMSAT booth as visitors joined or renewed their memberships, learned about satellite operation, checked out our Engineering and CubeSat Simulator displays, and purchased items from AMSAT’s store.
The first event of the weekend was AMSAT’s informal “Dinner at Tickets” at Tickets Pub & Eatery in Fairborn, OH, on Thursday evening. Approximately 20 AMSAT members and visitors attended this informal dinner and enjoyed great conversation about amateur radio satellites.
Friday was a very rainy day early in the morning and while this prevented the setup of our normal satellite demonstrations, booth traffic was heavy as visitors sought refuge by visiting the inside vendor exhibits.
Alan Johnston, KU2Y, introduced his CubeSatSim Kits available for purchase in the education section of the AMSAT booth and sold out of all the kits. More kits will be available to purchase from the AMSAT Store in the near future. Details about the CubeSatSim Kits can be found on the AMSAT website.
The Engineering section also saw a lot of traffic as visitors viewed the displays and had conversation with AMSAT’s Engineering team. One of the new items on display was a 3D printed model of the subsystems within the GOLF-TEE satellite.
On Sunday afternoon, the ARRL Youth Rally attended a demonstration of a pass of Tevel-3 at the AMSAT demo area.
The AMSAT and ARISS forums were held on Saturday afternoon. Archived videos of each forum presentation can be found on YouTube, courtesy of DARA:
AMSAT: Celebrating the Past, Looking to the Future
AMSAT GOLF 2024
AMSAT CubeSat Simulator
AMSAT Youth Initiative
ARISS: 40 Years of Amateur Radio in Space
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Hamvention Team for the above information – photos courtesy Keith Baker, KB1SF]
Project OSCAR Discontinues Operations, Donates Remaining Funds to AMSAT
Project OSCAR, the organization responsible for the construction and launch of the first amateur radio satellite, OSCAR 1 in 1961, as well as OSCARs 2, 3 and 4, has discontinued operations and donated its remaining funds to AMSAT.
Project OSCAR Inc. was originally formed to investigate the possibility of putting an amateur satellite in orbit. The first amateur radio satellite, OSCAR-1 orbited the earth for 22 days, transmitting the “HI” greeting in Morse Code. Since that beginning, the group had focused on supporting and promoting amateur radio satellite related projects.
In addition to donating its remaining funds to AMSAT, Project OSCAR also granted AMSAT ownership to the future rights to the term “OSCAR” or Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio. Ever since the launch of OSCAR I in 1961, it has been traditional for amateur radio satellites to carry the name OSCAR after their launch and activation in orbit. For several decades, AMSAT has administered the numbering of OSCAR satellites at Project OSCAR’s request. 121 satellites have received OSCAR designations.
AMSAT is greatly appreciative of all of those who have been involved in Project OSCAR over the past 64 years. The large and growing amateur satellite community owes its existence to those early pioneers who decided that amateur radio had a place in space and made it happen. AMSAT is committed to upholding the legacy of those early pioneers and Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
[ANS thanks Project OSCAR and AMSAT for the above information]
Nominations Open for 2024 AMSAT Board of Directors Election
AMSAT solicits nominations for the 2024 AMSAT Board of Directors election, to be held in the third quarter of the year. The seats of the following three incumbent Directors expire in 2024 and will be filled by this year’s election:
Mark Hammond, N8MH
Bruce Paige, KK5DO
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
Further, up to two Alternate Directors may be elected for one-year terms. A valid nomination for Director must be written and requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT member. Written nominations, with the nominee’s name, call sign, and contact information, as well as the nominators’ names, call signs, and contact information, should be sent to the AMSAT Secretary:
Jeff Davis, KE9V
PO Box 11
Yorktown, IN 47396
AMSAT bylaws require that the nomination be written and in the form specified by the Secretary who has elected to accept written nomination materials via postal mail or in electronic form, including email or electronic image of a paper document. Fax transmissions cannot be accepted.
Email nominations may be sent to jdavis [at] amsat [dot] org.
No matter what means are used, petitions MUST be received by the Secretary no later than June 15th. The Secretary will verify the qualifications of candidates and nominating members or Member Societies as petitions are received and will notify candidates whether their nominations are in order by the end of June.
[ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information]
The 2024 Coins Are Here Now!
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus. Join the AMSAT President’s Club today!
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for May 24, 2024
Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/
The following satellite has been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
OPS-SAT NORAD Cat ID 44878 Decayed from orbit on or about 23 May 2024
[ANS thanks Thian Golda, KO1MAN, New England Sci-Tech Orbital Analyst, for the above information]
Need new satellite antennas?
Purchase an M2 LEO-Pack from the AMSAT Store!
When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
ARISS News
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.
Children’s Technopark “Quantorium”, Obninsk, Russia, direct via R3XDC
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled crewmember is Aleksandr Grebyonkin RZ3DSE
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR
Contact is go for Mon 2024-05-27 14:07 UTC (***)
As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.
The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down), If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know.
Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time.
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information]
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Quick Hits:
On 30th May I will operate as G0ABI/P from the Lizard Peninsula Cornwall IN79, this is a very exposed area and is subject to extreme weather at times so fingers crossed.
Starting at 02:00 the first 2 passes of IO-117 will be from the roadside, the remaining passes will be from the Marconi Wireless Station. My thanks to them for allowing me to operate from this facility. The object of the excise to give this grid to as many people as possible. So if you can use UHM please when you call and receive a checkmark, I have received your call PLEASE wait until I am able to reply, this way I can give more people the grid. I will respond to the callers who’s LOS is first. When you get R73 you are in the log there is no need to reply.
If you are unable to use UHM please do NOT continually call as this stops me responding.
I will work other sats during the day please check https://hams.at
Let’s have a fun and memorable day filled with great operating.
Best 73
Pete G0ABI
Major Roves:
The Zinks (KJ7NDY & KI7QEK) are QRV from Kaui this week and will be doing LEO sat passes and POTA activations from BL01 & BL02. Watch hams.at for passes/parks, etc.
[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, and Alex Ners, K6VHF, for the above information]
Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get an AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
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 Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says,
“Two “different” audiences last week invited me to speak. The Mount Baker Amateur Radio Club in Bellingham, WA, was a ham club – and we had a great time.”
“But the Orange County (CA) Astronomers Club was a little, well, different. But there was plenty of “crossover” interests: space photography, studies of our planets … so it wasn’t a 100-percent “ham” audience. But I edited and came up with a presentation they said they enjoyed!”
“Think a 75-minute presentation on “working the easy satellites” would be appropriate for your club or event? Let me know by emailing me at k6lcsclint (at) gmail (dot) com or calling me at 909-999-SATS (7287)!”
Clint has NEVER given the exact same show twice: EACH of the 150+ presentations so far has been customized/tailored to their audiences.
Scheduled Events
Northeast HamXpostion
August 22-25, 2024
Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel & Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road W
Marlborough, MA 01752
2024 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
October 25-27, 2024
Doubletree by Hilton Tampa Rocky Point Waterfront
3050 N Rocky Point Dr W
Tampa, FL 33607
[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, and AMSAT for the above information]
+ LU7AA will fly Sunday 05/26 13hs(z) from San Luis, Argentina, a latex Balloon carrying a 200 KHz linear V/U Multimode Transponder as a mini QO-100. (aka PUNTANO-1). The object is to validate future satellite platforms planned by AMSAT Argentina. Pictures and details on http://amsat.org.ar/?f=merlo (Thanks to AMSAT Argentina).
+ A video of pre-launch testing of the AMSAT Microsats (AO-16, DO-17, WO-18, and LO-19) was recently uploaded to YouTube by Stephen Smith. It can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWip0QjwLVg
+ As part of a series of activations of QO-100 from Newfoundland, G0MRF worked 147 stations on SSB, 92 on FT8, and 1 on CW as VO1/G0MRF. (Thanks to Dave Bowman, G0MRF)
+ Graham Shirville, G3VZV, was also active from Newfoundland this past weekend. He was running 10 watts with a backpack portable station. A short video of his activation can be found at https://x.com/G8GTZ/status/1791863503441076568
+ Stefan Wagner, VE4NSA, and John Langille, VE1CWJ, made the first SSB QSOs via QO-100 from North America on May 16th as VO100QO. A picture of their setup can be found at https://x.com/vu3hpf/status/1791383807473377461
+ The June 2024 issue of The Spectrum Monitor has been released with an excellent Amateur Satellites column by Keith Baker, KB1SF. In his column, he discusses the AMSAT GOLF program. The Spectrum Monitor is an online magazine dealing with all facets of the radio hobby. More information can be found at https://www.thespectrummonitor.com/
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:
Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate.
Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.
Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
This week’s ANS Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm [at] amsat.org
ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002
