AMSAT Responds to Planned Decommissioning of IO-117 (GreenCube)
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
AMSAT Responds to Planned Decommissioning of IO-117 (GreenCube)
We were saddened to learn this morning that S5Lab plans to decommission IO-117 (GreenCube) and execute a passivation operation on February 5, 2024. AMSAT stands ready to leverage our decades of experience and work with S5Lab, AMSAT Italia, other AMSAT organizations, and the amateur satellite community at large to overcome any obstacles, regulatory or otherwise, to keeping IO-117 in service for as long as possible. This afternoon, AMSAT President Robert Bankston, KE4AL, sent the following letter to S5Lab expressing our desire to provide any support we can to keep the satellite in operation.
January 25, 2024
Sapienza Space Systems and Space Surveillance Laboratory (S5Lab)
Sapienza University of Rome
Via Email
To The GreenCube Team:
Over the past 13+ months, amateur satellite operators around the world have enjoyed the use of the digipeater on GreenCube (IO-117). As amateur radio’s first satellite in a medium earth orbit (MEO), it has opened worldwide long-distance contacts via amateur radio satellite that had not been possible since the loss of AMSAT-OSCAR 40 in 2004. As this letter is being written, a DXpedition to Clipperton Island in the Pacific Ocean has made contact with several hundred amateur operators around the world – the first activation of this rare location on amateur satellite in over 30 years. AMSAT and the amateur satellite community greatly appreciate your team making this wonderful resource available.
Not only has this satellite been a great resource to the amateur community, but the amateur community has also assisted GreenCube’s mission by uploading millions of frames of data received – including much data from when the satellite is not within the primary ground station’s footprint.
Launches above low earth orbit are rarely available for amateur satellite missions. Since the first amateur radio satellite launched in 1962, fewer than ten have gone to orbits beyond LEO and only QO-100 (available to only part of the world) and IO-117 remain in service.
Due to the unique orbit and capabilities, we request that S5Lab postpone the scheduled passivation operation and keep the satellite’s digipeater in service. Amateur satellites have a long tradition of extended lifetimes. Amateur radio operators still utilize AMSAT-OSCAR 7 – launched nearly fifty years ago in 1974 – for communications on a daily basis. Many other amateur radio satellites have been actively used for ten to twenty years. AMSAT stands ready to leverage our 55 years of experience in managing amateur radio satellites and work with S5Lab, AMSAT Italia, other AMSAT organizations, and the amateur satellite community at large to overcome any obstacles, regulatory or otherwise, to keeping GreenCube in service for as long as possible.
Sincerely,
Robert Bankston, KE4AL
President
Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)
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
VUCC & DXCC Satellite Standing as of January 1, 2024
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 5, 2024
ARISS and Amateur Radio Featured on the TODAY Show
Assistance Requested With CubeSat History Project
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
For over 30 years, the AMSAT News Service has been a text only service. Initially, ANS was distributed via dial-up modems and packet networks. As technology has moved on, the text only format has become a significant limitation. In particular, the text only format was often not responsive on mobile devices in many email clients. We hope this new format improves the readability for our users and makes the content more engaging. We do plan to continue tweaking this format as the year goes on.
We welcome feedback on this change at ans-editor [at] amsat.org
[ANS thanks the AMSAT News Service Team for the above information]
2024 President’s Club Coins Now Available
The 2024 President’s Club coins are now available! This year’s coin features an image of AMSAT’s next satellite – GOLF-TEE.
At all levels of membership – beginning with annual donations of $120 or more – President’s Club donors receive the following recognition:
Listing in the AMSAT News Service and The AMSAT Journal
Commemorative Coin – A unique 2” metal coin with a highly polished gold finish and four-color accents. Each year’s coin will feature a different color scheme and different OSCAR satellite.
Membership Certificate – An 8.5” x 11” full-color personalized certificate.
Donors at the Silver or higher levels receive even more benefits such as a handsome personalized acrylic desk plaque, tickets to the annual AMSAT Symposium, luncheons and dinners. See the table below for complete details. (Note that recognition items are provided by an anonymous donor and no member dues are used. 100% percent of your donation is used for AMSAT activities.)
For persons or clubs wanting to make a contribution by check or electronic transfer, please contact Frank Karnauskas, VP-Development at f.karnauskas [at] amsat.org. Remember, AMSAT is a 501(c)3 corporation and your contribution may be tax deductible. Check with your tax advisor.
[ANS thanks Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, AMSAT Vice President – Development, for the above information]
The 2024 Coins Are Here Now!
Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus. Join the AMSAT President’s Club today!
W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day Summary
N6UA operating during the 2024 W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day
The W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day occurred on January 1st. Reports of activity were received on the AMSAT-BB from several stations. Steve Nordahl, NS3L, in Nazareth, PA reported making 13 CW QSOs on RS-44 and JO-97:
Steve Greene, KS1G, in northern Virginia, reported that he worked NM3B, N8MR, and WA3FIR on the 1350Z pass of RS-44. He did hear NS3L work NM3B, but didn’t find him later in the pass to work him too.
Scott Davis, K5TA, reported working N6UA and KA0WKQ on RS-44 and WA8FXQ on AO-7.
Doug Tabor, N6UA, operated portable with a key attached to his leg. He operated on two passes of RS-44 – one from the back deck and one from the driveway. He worked NS3L, K5TA, and NA1ME and heard both WB7VUF and KE8RJU/7.
Thanks to all for participating in this annual event!
In March 2022, the AMSAT community lost one of our pioneers when Ray Soifer, W2RS, became a silent key. In addition to his numerous contributions to AMSAT and the worldwide amateur satellite community, Ray was also the long time organizer of AMSAT’s CW Activity Day – previously AMSAT Straight Key Night – held in conjunction with the ARRL’s event on New Year’s Day. In recognition of Ray’s long time service to AMSAT and his keen interest in CW operating via satellite, AMSAT’s CW Activity Day is now known as the W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day.
[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President, for the above information]
VUCC & DXCC Satellite Standing as of January 1, 2024
VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary
December 01, 2023 to January 01, 2024
Call
1-Dec
1-Jan
K8DP
1581
1629
WC7V
1426
1451
AA5PK
1404
1426
N8RO
1384
1401
DL2GRC
1108
1166
N0JE
1057
1075
KC9ELU
254
1056
DG7RO
285
1005
AC9O
836
1001
XE1L
860
915
EA2AA
856
875
KG0D
700
801
JN2QCV
507
726
KJ7DZ
600
700
KK4YEL
589
674
N8MR
617
658
KB1HY
604
648
W8MTB
600
620
KC4CJ
126
602
JA1QJI
253
600
A65BR
532
554
EA3TA
400
503
JS1LQI
436
500
HP2VX
481
496
N3CAL
471
480
HB9GWJ
450
476
JA1GZK
350
435
KP3V
310
402
AG7NR
350
400
N9ZTS
302
400
DL8GAM
351
375
N6PAZ
342
350
N7ZO
304
350
AL7ID
261
320
K8BL
300
310
N7UJJ
250
308
ZS2BK
244
305
W6AER
201
302
HL1WP
New
300
KH6WI
252
300
K6VHF
250
276
K9AQ
200
250
WD9EWK (DM41)
225
229
WA8ZID
202
226
KG4AKV (FM14)
New
217
YV1DIG
200
213
JS2GGD
157
204
WD9EWK (DM23)
195
200
JL3OUW
123
187
AK2S
New
152
N6UTC (DM15)
126
150
K9MU
100
129
N6UTC (DM14)
110
128
KB4DSL
New
127
WD9EWK (DM13)
109
116
N8XHF
New
106
EA3HAH
New
100
WA1JAY
New
100
Congratulations to the new VUCC holders!
HL1WP is first VUCC Satellite holder from PM37
N8XHF is first VUCC Satellite holder from FM16
DXCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary
December 01, 2023 to January 01, 2024
Call
1-Dec
1-Jan
S57NML
125
175
OE6MDF
143
169
VU2LBW
152
162
YO3APJ
149
162
SV8CS
150
153
LA6OP
136
143
HB9RYZ
139
141
SP3AU
136
137
KB1HY
131
135
YO9HP
108
131
F6AOJ
125
129
IK6GZM
101
124
IK4DRY
107
122
IW7DOL
116
122
K8DP
112
122
A65BR
104
112
CT1EEB
111
112
KC9ELU
101
112
AA5PK
100
110
LA7XK
New
106
TF1A
102
103
LA0FA
100
102
UW8SM
New
102
EA5RM
100
101
W8LR
New
100
Congratulations to the new DXCC Satellite holders!
UW8SM is first DXCC Satellite holder from KN59
[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ, for the above information]
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 5, 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 added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
BeliefSat-0 NORAD Cat ID 58695 IARU coordinated downlink on 145.980 MHz
The following satellite has been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
VENTA 1 NORAD Cat ID 42791 Decayed from orbit on or about 03 January 2024
[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 and Amateur Radio Featured on the TODAY Show
On January 5, 2024, the TODAY Show featured Harry Smith of NBC News going behind the scenes of last month’s QSO between Harbor Creek School in Pennsylvania and the ISS. Video of the segment can be seen on YouTube.
ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said of the segment: “What a phenomenal story of a breathtaking ARISS educational experience. Our heartiest congratulations to the Harbor Creek School: the Advanced Technology Group students, educators, families and Leader/Assistant Principal/ARISS Educator Drew Mortensen. WOW!!”
[ANS thanks the TODAY Show and ARISS for the above information]
Assistance Requested With CubeSat History Project
A general announcement to the AMSAT community!
Prof. Robert “Bob” Twiggs KE6QMD and Dr. Aaron Zucherman KM6CHY (a former student of his) are working on gathering and publishing a series on the history of the creation and adoption of the CubeSat, including its direct SmallSat forebears (AMSAT, WeberSat, OPAL, etc.) and educational picosat successors (CanSats, PocketQubes and ThinSats). While outstanding technical accounts have been written on the subject, we plan on focusing on the underreported human stories and drama during this early history.
We specifically wanted to reach out to the AMSAT community to find those who worked on the early educational smallsat missions and AMSAT members who were mentors to many of the earliest (pre-2010) CubeSat mission teams. However, if you feel you have something else to contribute to CubeSat’s history, we want to hear about it!
A list of missions we are hoping to find AMSAT members from includes:
WeberSAT (Weber-OSCAR 18, WO-18, Microsat-3)
OPAL (OPAL-OSCAR 38, OO-38, StenSat,)
JAWSAT (Weber-OSCAR 39, WO-39)
SSETI-Express (XO-53, eXpress-OSCAR 53)
CUTE-1 (CO-55, CubeSat-OSCAR 55)
CUTE-1.7 (CO-56, CubeSat-OSCAR 56)
CUBESAT XI-IV (CO-57, CubeSat-OSCAR 57)
CUBESAT XI-V (CO-58, CubeSat-OSCAR 58)
Delfi-C3 (DO 64, Delfi-OSCAR 64)
Please feel free to contact azucherman [at] gmail.com if you are interested in contributing.
[ANS thanks Aaron Zucherman, PhD, KM6CHY, 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.
No contacts have been scheduled from 2023-12-21 to 2024-01-14. The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2023-12-21 05:00 UTC.
The Service Module radio is temporarily stowed.
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
No scheduled operations are listed at this time.
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.
[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
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,
“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
ARISS 40th Anniversary Conference: Celebrating the Positive Impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight
Center for Space Education, Adjacent to NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Center, Florida, USA
February 22-24, 2024
[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, and AMSAT for the above information]
Satellite Shorts from All Over
+ The ARRL has published Logbook of the World configuration file version 11.27, adding support for QSOs made through SO-121.
+ The SaxaVord Spaceport on the Scottish island of Unst in the Shetland Islands was approved to launch rockets in 2024, the first fully licensed orbital spaceport in Western Europe. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)
+ China launched 4 weather satellites and a pair of Beidou satellites… but again dropped a booster full of highly toxic hypergols on someone’s house. Video at https://bit.ly/3vo9mhu (ANS thanks The Orbital Index 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 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
In March 2022, the AMSAT community lost one of our pioneers when Ray Soifer, W2RS, became a silent key. In addition to his numerous contributions to AMSAT and the worldwide amateur satellite community, Ray was also the long time organizer of AMSAT’s CW Activity Day – previously AMSAT Straight Key Night – held in conjunction with the ARRL’s event on New Year’s Day. In recognition of Ray’s long time service to AMSAT and his keen interest in CW operating via satellite, AMSAT’s CW Activity Day is now known as the W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day.
The rules are simple – operate CW through any amateur satellite between 0000 UTC and 2359 UTC on January 1, 2024. Straight keys and bugs are encouraged, but not required. Logs are not required, but operators are encouraged to submit a report of their activity to the AMSAT-BB. Photos and video clips of activity are also encouraged – post them on X or other social media networks and tag @AMSAT or #amsat
Remember to use the minimum power required for communication as constant carrier modes, including CW, can disrupt transponder operation for other users.
On November 11, 2023, the HADES-D satellite was launched on a Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Developed by AMSAT-EA, the satellite carries an FM and digital repeater payload to provide services to amateur radio enthusiasts around the world. The satellite has been commissioned and the repeater is currently active.
At the request of AMSAT-EA, AMSAT hereby designates HADES-D as Spain-OSCAR 121 (SO-121). We congratulate AMSAT-EA, thank them for their contribution to the amateur satellite community, and wish them continued success on this and future projects.
[ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT Vice President – Operations and OSCAR Number Administrator, for the above information]
