AMSAT News Service

In this edition:

* W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day to be Held January 1st
* Amateur Satellites to be Featured at Ham Radio University
* Six US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process
* Only Two Days Left to Get 2023 AMSAT President’s Club Coins
* Student-Led ARISS Contact a Success
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for December 29, 2023
* 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 http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

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

You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/

ANS-365 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2023 DEC 31

W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day to be Held January 1st

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.

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]

Amateur Satellites to be Featured at Ham Radio University

AMSAT Member Peter Portanova, W2JV, will present an Amateur Radio Satellite forum- “Orbiting the Earth” – A beginners guide to operating the FM Satellites at the upcoming Ham Radio University. The Ham Radio University (HRU) educational conference will be a live event only with over 20 forums, held on Saturday, January 6, 2024 from 9:00 AM EST to 4:00 PM EST at the Hillwood Commons Student Center on the campus of LIU Post college, 720 Northern Boulevard, Brookville, NY 11548. Now in its 25th consecutive year, Ham Radio University is free to attend and no preregistration is necessary. Complete information on HRU can be found at https://hamradiouniversity.org/.

[ANS thanks Peter Portanova, W2JV, for the above information.]

Six US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) announced the schools/host organizations selected for the July-December 2024 window. A total of 6 of the submitted proposals during the recent proposal window have been accepted to move forward in the processes of planning to host a scheduled amateur radio contact with crew on the ISS. The primary goal of the ARISS program is to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activities and raise their awareness of space communications, radio communications, space exploration, and related areas of study and career possibilities.

The schools and host organizations are:

– Coastal Community School
Satellite Beach, FL

– Computer Museum of America
Roswell, GA

– Kopernik Observatory
Vestal, NY

– Immaculate Heart of Mary School
Wayne, NJ

– Magnet Innovation Center
Inlet Beach, FL

– Midlands STEM Charter School
Winnsboro, SC

The ARISS program anticipates that NASA will be able to provide scheduling opportunities for the 6 US host organizations during the July-December 2024 time period. They are now at work completing an acceptable equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute the ham radio contact. Once their equipment plan is approved by ARISS, the final selected schools/organizations will be scheduled as their availability and flexibility match up with the scheduling opportunities offered by NASA.

[ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR for the above information.]

Only Two Days Left to Get 2023 AMSAT President’s Club Coins

Thanks to the generosity of AMSAT members, the 2023 President’s Club has raised over $49,000 to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! And there are still two days to go! Membership levels begin at $120. All 2023 contributors receive a full-color certificate, AMSAT logo cork beverage coasters and, of course, the stunning membership coin. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of its launch on June 16, 1983, this year’s coin features an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 10. Complete information on the AMSAT President’s Club can be found at https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/.

But, hurry – there is only a handful of 2023 coins left and they will no longer be available once the new year begins. Become at member today at the AMSAT Store https://www.amsat.org/shop/.

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]

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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase M2 LEO-Packs from the
AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/

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Student-Led ARISS Contact a Success

A student-led contact with astronauts through the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program was a great success that earned significant media attention. On Monday, December 11, students at Harbor Creek High School in Harborcreek, Pennsylvania, used amateur radio to talk with Astronaut Andreas Mogensen, KG5GCZ.

The students are part of the Advanced Technologies Group, KC3SGV, an after-school club at Harbor Creek. Fifteen of the students are licensed radio amateurs. As ARRL News reported last week, their faculty advisor, Assistant Principal Drew Mortensen, AC3DS, is a graduate of the ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology. He utilized what he learned in the program and brought it back to the school. The ARISS contact is just one of the many successes the program has had.

ARRL Education and Learning Manager Steve Goodgame, K5ATA, was on hand for the contact, and he was impressed by the skills demonstrated by the students.

Goodgame recalled, “From antenna assembly and installation to the actual control operator function of the radio during the contact itself, students were at the helm. Every student who asked a question of Commander Mogensen was a licensed amateur radio operator. When I asked what they had planned next, the response was, ‘Well, the logical step would be to build and get a CubeSat launched.’ This is exactly the type of program we hope to help create as an outcome of the Teachers Institute,” said Goodgame.

Local, regional, and national media took note of the students’ success. Local television newscasts (see Amateur Radio in the News below) featured the event, and NBC Journalist Harry Smith and a crew from NBC’s TODAY were at the event to tell the story about the young hams.

This type of exposure for amateur radio is key to growing the hobby, according to ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX. “The passion of these teenage operators led to this success story. Who doesn’t love the story of young minds doing extraordinary things in STEM through amateur radio?” she exclaimed. ARRL Director of Development Kevin Beal, K8EAL, mentioned that the media coverage demonstrates the impact that the donors who have funded the Teachers Institute have on the future of amateur radio. Beal said, “The reach goes far beyond the one-week training institute and ripples out farther than we can see.”

The ARRL Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology is funded by the ARRL Education and Technology Fund. If you are interested in supporting STEM education through the Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology, visit https://www.arrl.org/GiveToSTEM.

[ANS thanks ARRL News for the above information.]

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for December 29, 2023

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. Elements in the TLE bulletin files are updated daily. TLE bulletin files are updated to add or remove satellites as necessary 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/

HADES-D has been renamed Spain-OSCAR 121

[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information.]

ARISS NEWS

Upcoming Contacts

No contacts have been scheduled from December 21, 2023 to January 14, 2024.

[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.]

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.

Ham Radio University
January 6, 2024
LIU-POST
Hillwood Commons Student Center
720 Northern Boulevard, Brookville, NY 11548
https://hamradiouniversity.org/

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Think a 75-minute presentation on “working the easy satellites” would be appropriate for your club or event? Send email an to Clint at k6lcsclint (at) gmail (dot) com. Already booking dates for 2024! From a club recently: “Thank you for the well-done presentation this evening. After the Zoom session had ended, my members would not go home: They just wanted to keep talking about your presentation. Again, well done and thank you.” – Phil N2EDX, VP Daytona Beach ARA [ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS, AMSAT Ambassador for the above information.]

+ The presentations from the 50th Anniversary AMSAT-DL. Anniversary Satellite Meeting on September 16, 2023 in Bochum are available on the YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/3RYfqWP. Subtitles are available and can be enabled in YouTube, with automatic translation into other languages. [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.]

+ The 2024 CubeSat Developers Workshop, an annual conference hosted by the Cal Poly CubeSat Laboratory, will be held April 23–25, 2024. The event will be held at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Performing Arts Center in-person as it has in years past. The conference draws more than 500 industry professionals, small satellite developers and students who will take part in three days of live presentations, Q&A panels, exhibit booths, and more. This conference is particularly useful to new members of the CubeSat community with invaluable opportunities to meet and talk to industry veterans. If you are interested in hearing more about this year’s conference, click the link below! For more information go to https://www.cubesat.org/. [ANS thanks cubesat.org for the above information.]

+A piece of America’s space history is now on the ocean’s floor. During its return voyage to Port Canaveral in Central Florida, a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage booster toppled over and broke in half. This particular booster, tail number B1058, was coming back from its record-breaking 19th mission when it had its fatal fall. The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Dec. 23 carrying 23 Starlink satellites. The booster made a successful landing eight and a half minutes after launch on the drone ship ‘Just Read the Instructions’ which was stationed east of the Bahamas. SpaceX said in a statement on social media that it succumbed to “high winds and waves.” [ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information.]

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

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

* Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
* Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate.
* Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
* Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.

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

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

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

In this edition:

* Happy Holidays from AMSAT News Service
* HADES-D Designated SO-121, Active For General Use
* ClarkSat-1 Deployed from ISS
* WRC-23 Concludes with Wins for Amateur Radio
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* 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 http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

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

You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/

ANS-358 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2023 Dec 24

Happy Holidays from AMSAT News Service

Your AMSAT News Service editors wish all of our readers a merry Christmas and a happy season to all traditions celebrating holidays at this end of the year.

We look forward to continuing to provide you with the most pertinent amateur satellite news and information in the coming year in a new and updated format beginning in January.

73 from
Mark Johns, K0JM, Senior Editor, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, Editor and AMSAT Executive Vice President, Washington, DC
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, Editor and AMSAT Vice President – Development, Tucson, Arizona
Mitch Ahrenstorff, AD0HJ, Editor, Jackson, Minnesota

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LAST CALL for 2023 AMSAT President’s Club Coins!

The year is almost over and, when it is,
the 2023 coins will no longer be available.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of its launch
on June 16, 1983, this year’s coin features
an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 10.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
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HADES-D Designated SO-121, Active For General Use

HADES-D satellite has been commissioned. After a trial period in which its behavior has been tested at the radioelectric, systems, and energy performance levels, the FM repeater is left active for general use.

At the request of AMSAT-EA, AMSAT has designated HADES-D as Spain-OSCAR 121 (SO-121). AMSAT congratulates AMSAT-EA, thanks them for their contribution to the amateur satellite community, and wishes them continued success on this and future projects.

The repeater works with FM/FSK (MSK144 has been tested too) with an uplink frequency of 145,875 MHz and a downlink frequency of 436,663.5 MHz (a bit lower than the 436.666 MHz expected). We have been able to verify that the modulation is more appropriate by narrowing the bandwidth, so it is recommended to use NFM in those devices allowing it.

AMSAT-EA is drafting a use and operation manual, which will be published shortly and which will indicate in detail some of the characteristics of the satellite and its working modes. Although it is not definitive, Amsat-EA is considering some special operating options such as reserving a day of the week exclusively for digital communications following the example we know with the AO-92.

Finally, please, remember that, as far as we know, HADES-D is the first satellite with FM repeater service mounted on a pocketqube platform. This standard is the smallest in terms of normalized satellite sizes. HADES-D size is 8x5x5 cm. Its panel surface and battery size are much smaller than the rest of the satellite repeaters in use, so HADES-D is not comparable to most of them either in radiated power or signal strength. HADES-D should be considered a QRP satellite.

[ANS thanks Félix Páez, EA4GQS, of the HADES-D team, and Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT Vice President – Operations and OSCAR Number Administrator, for the above information]

ClarkSat-1 Deployed from ISS

ClarkSat-1 was one of two cubesats deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) via the Japanese “Kibo” module on Monday, December 18. Also known by the name “AMBITOUS,” and by the callsign JS1YLT, the satellite was described as follows in frequency coordination applications:

ClarkSat-1 is a 1U size satellite, and about 22 students of Clark Memorial International High School having amateur radio qualification or intending to obtain it will be engaged in the development of the satellite, and operate it by using the amateur radio band.

+ Optical Camera Mission To take pictures of the Earth and downlink them in 430 MHz band (GMSK, 4,800 bps). The pictures are to be received at control station and general amateur stations are also expected to receive them and report to us as the downlink schedule will be published on our website and social media.

+ Digi-talker Mission 40 to 120 seconds long Digi-talker signal (Voice or SSTV pictures in Robot 36 format recorded before launch) including the call sign and school name will be transmitted from the satellite and be expected that the general amateur stations will receive the signal and report back to us.

High school students with amateur radio license will be engaged in the development of the satellite, and high school students will operate the satellite. These activities will improve the amateur radio and satellite communication skills of the students. The project will also serve as a model case for the development of amateur satellites by the younger generation, and stimulate the interest of the younger generation in amateur radio and satellite communications. The satellite information, such as orbital position and operation time, will be actively disseminated to the world through the website and social media, so that radio amateurs all over the world will have an opportunity to receive image data and digi-talker signals transmitted from the satellite.

A downlink on 435.130 MHz has been coordinated by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) for ClarkSat-1. The ClarkSat-1 team requests signal reports sent to “[email protected]”. Satellite status reports will be posted on X.com @sat1_AMBITIOUS

[ANS thanks JAXA, Masanobu Tsuji, JA1DAO, and IARU for the above information]

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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/

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WRC-23 Concludes with Wins for Amateur Radio

After four hectic weeks of the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23), and a preceding week of Radiocommunication Assembly meetings, WRC-23 concluded on Friday, December 15. Amateur radio fared very well overall, despite the enormous pressures across the radio spectrum from LF to terahertz. This is a tribute to the effort of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) team, who at times had to work from 8:00 a.m. to as late as 2:00 a.m. the next morning, as well as on the weekends.

At the top of the amateur radio priority list was Agenda Item (AI) 9.1b, regarding the coexistence of the secondary amateur and amateur-satellite allocation with the primary radionavigation satellite service in the 1240 – 1300 MHz band. This had seen 4 years of strenuous effort prior to WRC and resulted in a recommendation being agreed upon at the Radiocommunication Assembly, followed by WRC-23 participants agreeing to mention the recommendation in a new footnote for the allocation. Both the recommendation and the footnote are an excellent outcome for the amateur services.

Other items were relevant to the amateur service and were prioritized beforehand:

AI 1.12: 40 – 50 MHz radar sounders. These are now largely limited to the polar area.

AI 1.14: 231.5 – 252 GHz re-allocations for Earth sensing. Fortunately, our secondary 241 – 248 GHz allocation is unchanged, and the primary allocation of 248 – 250 GHz is unaffected.

AI 9.1a: Space weather sensors was an item of major interest. A clear definition for such sensors was confirmed, with frequency protection being agreed upon as an agenda item for WRC-27.

AI 1.2: More broadband in the 3.3 GHz and 10 GHz bands (in Region 2). This is a difficult challenge, as the amateur services are secondary with numerous (mainly South American) countries allocating mobile broadband by way of footnotes. Instead of a region-wide designation for IMT at 10.0 – 10.5 GHz in Region 2, there is a footnote limited to a dozen countries.

WRC-23 agreed to an agenda for the next conference under AI 10. This AI had an unprecedented number of proposals for WRC-27 and preliminary ones for WRC-31. Following the relatively quick agreement on AI 9.1b, the IARU team switched most of its efforts to the following future proposals to reduce the impact on the amateur services, as numerous amateur bands were under consideration.

WRC-27

The WRC-27 agenda will have 19 items. The following are the most relevant to the amateur services:

1300 – 1350 MHz: A previous proposal for this band, adjacent to 23 centimeters, was suppressed, providing certainty for our secondary allocation.

Space Weather: This potential AI was initially very concerning, as the 0.1 – 20 MHz and 28 and 50 MHz bands were initially under consideration, until concerns were raised, and a team effort resulted in these allocations being removed from the topic.

Lunar Communications: This future agenda item initially included 70 centimeters and other bands where Earth-moon-Earth could be restricted. Fortunately, the UHF aspect of this AI was modified to exclude 430 – 440 MHz.

10 GHz: We were fortunate that this band was withdrawn from another round of consideration for mobile broadband, especially in Region 1.

WRC-31

A record number of preliminary item resolutions were agreed on. The following two are especially relevant:

Wireless Power Transmission (WPT): Both near-field and beamed are being considered as part of the International Telecommunication Union radio regulations, whilst minimizing the impact from interference.

275 – 325 GHz Allocations: This will include an opportunity for the amateur and amateur-satellite service.

The IARU team worked effectively to minimize the amateur bands from future studies, which is a great result for amateur radio.

IARU is very pleased with the overall result of WRC-23. The IARU team has already started to discuss and consider how to engage and resource for the next cycle leading up to WRC-27. IARU WRC Coordinator and Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, expressed his pleasure with the results and complimented the extraordinary effort of the dedicated team of IARU volunteers who worked long hours to achieve the results that will benefit all amateurs.

The IARU team includes ARRL Technical Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA. WRC-23 ran from November 20 – December 15, 2023.

[ANS thanks International Amateur Radio Union Secretary Joel Harrison, W5ZN, and ARRL News for the above information]

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Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for Dec. 22

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 daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/.

HADES-D/SO-121 has been positively identified with NORAD Cat 58567

The following satellite has been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution:
Clark sat-1 (AMBITIOUS) NORAD Cat ID 58613 IARU coordinated downlink on 435.130 MHz

[ANS thanks AMSAT Orbital Elements page 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.

SSTV from the ISS was to be sent on 145.800 MHz using the PD120 format. The event was scheduled for Sat 2023-12-16 at 10:15 UTC through Tue 2023-12-19 around 18:00 UTC. Unfortunately there is an issue that is still attempting to be resolved, so no signals were received. Hopefully the event can be rescheduled in the near future. 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), but operation has been interrupted due to undocking maneuvers this past week. 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.

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

The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html

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

Upcoming Satellite Operations

None scheduled at this time.

[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, 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.

+ 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 the AMSAT Events page for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ NASA has released a three minute video retrospective of its accomplishments in 2023. The video may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQWespzOtzI (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)

+ NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications experiment beamed an ultra-high definition streaming video on Dec. 11 from a record-setting 19 million miles away (31 million kilometers, or about 80 times the Earth-Moon distance). The demo transmitted the 15-second test video via a cutting-edge instrument called a flight laser transceiver. Uploaded before launch, the short ultra-high definition video features an orange tabby cat named Taters chasing a laser pointer. Taters is the pet of an employee of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the cat is reported to be totally unimpressed by the accomplishment. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)

+ December 6 marked the 25th anniversary of the International Space Station. On Dec. 6, 1998 the first two elements of the station, Unity and Zarya, were mated by the crew of space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-88 mission. Since then, 273 people from 21 countries have visited the station. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index and NASA for the above information)

+ NASA’s Mars Rover, Perseverance, recently marked 1,000 “sols” (Martian days) on the red planet, after landing at Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021. It’s companion Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, the first robot ever to explore the skies of a world beyond Earth, made its 70th flight on Friday, Dec 22. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index and NASA for the above information)

+ Voyager 1 has stopped returning useful data to Earth due to a problem with the spacecraft’s Flight Data System (FDS) computers. It could take several weeks for engineers to develop a new plan to remedy the issue. Launched in 1977, the spacecraft and its twin, Voyager 2, are the two longest-operating spacecraft in history [behind AO-7, that is]. In addition, commands from mission controllers on Earth take 22.5 hours to reach Voyager 1, which is exploring the outer regions of our solar system more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth. That means the engineering team has to wait 45 hours to get a response from Voyager 1 and determine whether a command had the intended outcome. (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)

+ A French small rocket project, aptly-named “Baguette-One”, received more funding from the French government to continue developing a low-cost hybrid rocket engine. Baguette One should take flight in the beginning of 2026 and aims to put small satellites up to 250 kilograms into orbit. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index and LeMonde for the above information)

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

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

* Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
* Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate.
* Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
* Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.

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

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

This week’s ANS Editor, Mark Johns, KØJM
k0jm [at] amsat.org