ANS-206 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for July 25

July 25, 2021 by Paul Stoetzer

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS–206

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[email protected]

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

In this edition:

AMSAT’s 39th Annual Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting To Be Held October 29-31
2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Being Held
23cm band and Sat-Nav Coexistence: Preliminary Studies considered in ITU-R WP4C
AO-109 (RadFxSat-2/AMSAT Fox-1E) Open For Amateur Use
New operational reports on FO-29 and AO-109
No Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 22, 2021
NEA Scout and solar sails on CUBESAT experiments.
10th annual NASA Space Apps Challenge
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS–206 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2021 July 25

AMSAT’s 39th Annual Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting To Be Held October 29-31

The 39th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting will be held Friday through Sunday, October 29-31, 2021, at the Crowne Plaza AiRE in Bloomington, Minnesota. Crowne Plaza AiRE is located at 3 Appletree Square, Bloomington, MN 55425.

The Crowne Plaza AiRE is adjacent to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and only steps away from the METRO Blue Line’s American Blvd. stop. Nearby shopping and tourist attractions include Mall of America, SEA LIFE at Mall of America, Nickelodeon Universe, and the Minnesota Zoo.

The Symposium includes presentations, exhibit space, and the AMSAT Annual General Meeting. The preliminary schedule is presented below.

The AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting will be held before the Symposium, October 28-29, at the same hotel.

You can make hotel reservations by calling the hotel directly at (952) 854-9000 or (877) 424-4188 (toll free) or online by visiting crowneplazaaire.com. The group name is Amateur Satellite Group.

Registration is available on AMSAT’s Member Portal at https://launch.amsat.org/Events

Preliminary Schedule of Events (subject to change)
Thursday, October 28, 2021

0800 – 1200 AMSAT Board Meeting
1200 – 1300 AMSAT Board Lunch Break
1300 – 1700 AMSAT Board Meeting
1600 – 1900 Registration

Friday, October 29, 2021

0800 – 1900 Registration
0800 – 2100 Space Exhibit
0800 – 1200 AMSAT Board Meeting
1200 – 1300 AMSAT Board Lunch Break
1300 – 1700 AMSAT Space Symposium presentations
1700 – 1900 Dinner Break
1900 – 2130 AMSAT Reception, cash bar available

Saturday, October 30, 2021

0800 – 1600 Registration
0800 – 2100 Space Exhibit
0800 – 1200 AMSAT Space Symposium presentations
1200 – 1300 Lunch Break
1300 – 1500 AMSAT Space Symposium presentations
1500 – 1700 AMSAT Annual General Meeting
1800 – 1900 Attitude Adjustment (reception)
1800 – 2200 Cash Bar
1900 – 2200 Banquet

Sunday, October 31, 2021

0700 – 0900 AMSAT Ambassadors’ Breakfast

NOTE: All times are Central Daylight Time (CDT), UTC – 5 hours

[ANS thanks the 2021 AMSAT Symposium Committee for the above information]

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Join the 2021 President’s Club!
Score your 2″ 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin.
This gold finished coin comes with
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered “Remove Before Flight” Key Tag
Donate today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won’t want to miss it!
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2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Being Held

The nomination period for the 2021 Board of Directors Election ended on June 15, 2021. The following candidates have been duly nominated and their candidate statements can be found at link that follows:

Joseph Armbruster, KJ4JIO
Robert Bankston, KE4AL
Jerry Buxton, N0JY
Zach Metzinger, N0ZGO

In accordance with our Bylaws, AMSAT must hold an election, even though we have four nominations for four open Director positions. As such, we will host electronic voting on our Member Portal this year, at no cost to the organization. Voting is now open and will close on September 15, 2021.

When members click on the poll link, they will see their ballot (poll question). After choosing from the possible options, click the Submit button to cast your vote. Unlike many online polls, the results of all votes cast, up to the point of your vote, will not be displayed. AMSAT members can only vote once. If you click the poll link again after already voting, a vote submitted message will be displayed. As four seats on the Board of Directors are up for election this year, all four candidates will be seated on the Board when the voting period concludes on September 15, 2021.

To read candidate biographies see: https://launch.amsat.org/2021-BoD-Election

AMSAT members may access their ballots at: https://launch.amsat.org/Sys/Poll/25943

[ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information]

23cm band and Sat-Nav Coexistence: Preliminary Studies considered in ITU-R WP4C

During the period 5–13 July 2021, the preparatory work for WRC-23 agenda item 9.1b continued in ITU-R Working Party 4C (WP4C). (See Region 1 Feb 23rd news item for further background). The IARU member representatives from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, Norway, UK and USA, participated in the meeting and delivered additional information on amateur activities in this key microwave band.

Preliminary studies came from France based on the ongoing CEPT work to provide initial estimates of separation distances required between RNSS GALILEO receivers and a sample of amateur emissions. The European Commission GALILEO team provided a set of observations pertaining to a RNSS interference event in northern Italy.
More information is on the IARU page at: https://bit.ly/3kKEmRq

[ANS thanks The IARU and Barry Lewis, G4SJH 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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AO-109 (RadFxSat-2/AMSAT Fox-1E) Open For Amateur Use

The AMSAT Engineering and Operations Teams are pleased to announce that AO-109 (RadFxSat-2/AMSAT Fox-1E) is now open for amateur use. Users are advised to use efficient modes such as CW or FT4 for making contacts, since issues with the satellite make SSB voice contacts challenging at best.

Please see the May/June 2021 issue (Vol. 44, No. 3) of The AMSAT Journal for an article by Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, and Mark Hammond, N8MH, detailing the various attempts to characterize AO-109 and its apparent problems.

On behalf of the Engineering and Operations Teams–

73,
Jerry, N0JY and Drew, KO4MA

AO-109 Frequencies
Inverting Linear Transponder
Uplink 145.860 MHz – 145.890 MHz
Downlink 435.760 MHz – 435.790 MHz
1k2 BPSK Telemetry 435.750 MHz (non-operational)

[ANS thanks AMSAT Vice President – Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, and AMSAT Vice President – Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, for the above information]

New operational reports on FO-29 and AO-109

In a recent email, Hideo Kambayashi, JH3XCU has kindly translated the August 2021 operational schedule for FO-29: “FO-29 operation schedule for Aug. 2021 (UTC) 1st 11:48- 7th 01:14- 11:33- 13:16- 8th 00:19- 10:35- 12:22- 14th 00:04- 10:20- 12:07- 23:09- 15th 11:12- 12:56- 17th 00:48- 02:35- 11:06- 12:52- 21st 00:38- 02:25- 10:56- 23:45- 22nd 09:59- 11:45- 27th 23:30- 28th 09:45- 11:30- 22:35- 29th 00:18- 10:35- Source:https://www.jarl.org/Japanese/3_Fuji/fuji3-202107.htm

Considerable discussion of AO-109 activity has occurred on the AMSAT-NA email reflector. Chris Thompson writes: “I guess our friend AO-109 must have been just waiting for us to open it up for amateur use before sending some telemetry 🙂
Seriously, thanks to SatNogs, we found some telemetry that was recorded on May 10 just after we cranked up the modulator gain. In addition, a SatNogs observation today, July 21, also shows signs of weak telemetry. We’d appreciate it if anyone who has a station that can receive telemetry, especially stations with good gain and tracking ability, could listen for AO-109 telemetry on 435.750. If FoxTelem is all you have that’s great, but if you also have some way to capture the signal in a file (say IQ recording in HDSDR) that would be even better. Chances are the signal is weak enough that it might need some teasing by our experts before we can get any info out of it. I’ll also schedule some SatNogs observations, and anyone who has a SatNogs station with similar characteristics (gain antenna etc), please schedule some of your own over the next few days!”

Chris Thompson, AC2CZ/G0KLA adds: “But, let me remind everyone that the prize and glory for receiving and decoding the first telemetry is still available. I could partially decode the data that Mark supplied by turning off the Forward Error Correction and decoding the bytes between the sync words – errors and all. It is quite a challenge to receive decodable frames but it is surely possible. See if you can be the first to post decoded frames. If you are not set up to decode frames but have a good recording, then send it to me and I will attempt to decode it. The prize will be yours all the same.

As an example, the ITR waterfall is just not quite decodable: https://network.satnogs.org/observations/4453728/. But it is close. If you can do better than that then the prize could be yours.

Mark Jessop, VK5QI, also provides the following: “I’ve scheduled more observations on the ITR ground station, which is not usually schedulable by most SatNOGS users (the station is in testing). The ITR station is using a large ZCG-Scalar Cross-Yagi, phased for RHCP. Gain is approx 14 dBd. A picture of the station is here: https://network-satnogs.freetls.fastly.net/media/ground_stations/20170911_140358.jpg. Worth noting that only one of those cross-yagis is hooked up at the moment.”

[ANS thanks Hideo Kambayashi, JH3XCU of JAMSAT, Burns Fisher WB1FJ AMSAT Flight Software, Chris Thompson, AC2CZ, and Mark Jessop VK5QI for the above information]

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AMSAT’s GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar
panels, propulsion, and attitude control, now manifested for launch on
NASA’s ELaNa 46 mission. Come along for the ride. The journey will be
worth it!
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF

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No Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 22, 2021

The current Keplerian file is available at: https://www.amsat.org/tle/current/nasa.all

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

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

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NEA Scout and solar sails on CUBESAT experiments.

Now tested at scale, first by Japan’s IKAROS in 2010 (196 m2 sail) and later by The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 (32 m2 sail), solar sails allow for low, continuous thrust without the use of fuel. NASA’s Near-Earth Asteroid Scout mission, or NEA Scout, is a 6U CubeSat with an 86 m2 aluminized polymer solar sail planned to launch on Artemis I (e.g. probably very late this year or early next). The entire craft and sail weigh less than 14 kg. The mission will spend two years sailing on solar photon pressure (and adjusting course with cold gas thrusters) to reach 1991 VG, a very small NEA, and will then characterize the asteroid’s physical properties during a slow flyby (10-20 m/s; paper). If successful, the mission may be extended to another asteroid. Further out, NASA plans to launch Solar Cruiser in 2025 to the Earth-Sun L1 point where it will use the largest solar sail ever flown (1,650 m2, with built-in reflection control devices at the sail’s corners for attitude adjustments), to explore a novel orbit: “Solar Cruiser will fly beyond L1 and use a solar sail to make its own artificial orbit closer to the Sun, but still on a straight line between the Sun and Earth as Earth revolves around the Sun. Only a solar sail can provide the forces necessary to maintain such an otherwise unstable orbit, since doing so requires constant fuel.” This is a testbed for future, even more ambitious missions.

[ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information]

10th annual NASA Space Apps Challenge

Registration is open for the 10th annual NASA Space Apps Challenge. “NASA is inviting coders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, and technologists to come together in a global, virtual hackathon the weekend of October 2-3, 2021. During a period of 48 hours, participants from around the world will come together to create virtual teams and solve challenges using NASA’s open-sourced data.

See https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/ for information and registration details.

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]

ARISS News

No ARISS activities are being reported for the coming week. The ARISS status page below explains.

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

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

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

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AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.

Support AMSAT’s projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/

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Upcoming Satellite Operations

Quick Hits:

DM23, DM33, DM43 – Dave AD7DB will be operating holiday style on FM satellites from July 22-25 2021. DM23 will be on July 22 or 25. The other grids may be activated on any of those days depending on weather and other factors. Confirmations in LOTW. Follow @ad7db on Twitter for updates.

FN65/66: Indeed, VY2HF will be in FN65 from Thursday (7/22 – 7/29) evening this week until the following Thursday morning. As I’ll be in Fredericton proper, if there is interest I can position myself on the FN65/FN66 grid line with little trouble. Daytimes will be best, RS44 preferred, FM doable also. And on Thursday the 29th I will be driving into FN76/77 for several more days.

Major Roves:

WA7AA:
July 25-27 DN64 holiday style
July 30-31 DN63 holiday style

The remaining parts of this trip will be camping in remote areas with little to no internet or Twitter. I will get info out as I can, but I won’t be able to setup skeds ahead of time. Lots of POTA activations on Sats and HF as well.

I will be operating as F4DXV/P from several different grids over the next 2 weeks of my vacation (holiday’s style mode & weather permitting of course)

From Jérôme F4DXV: My current plans for NA, look like this:
JN14 on July 25th: RS-44 13utc (during the trip therefore not guaranteed with traffic)
JN15 on July 26th: AO-7 08:40utc
JN05 on July 28th: AO-7 08:35utc
IN96 on August 01: FO-29 12:00utc
IN96 on August 06: AO-7 18:12utc
JN06 on August 09: RS-44 11:42utc (on my return trip so not guaranteed with traffic)
IN94 on August 16: RS-44 10:40utc
Please look for me ~145.938 for AO-7 , ~435.660 for RS-44 & 435.640 for FO-29 Hope to CU there

Tyler Nicolas, WL7T has been busy Tweeting his roves. The latest: “Plan to be in BP42 Friday evening, BP53 Saturday evening, and the big one BP63 (a difficult grid to get to) on Sunday.

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

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, Jérôme LeCuyer, F4DXV and Tyler Nicolas, WL7T 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.

No upcoming events currently scheduled.

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

Contact AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, at http://www.work-sat.com or by phone at 909-999-SATS (7287)

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

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ NASA is also developing its ACS3 mission to test light-weight deployable booms for solar sails using composite materials that are 75% lighter and experience 100x less in-space thermal distortion than those used previously. The ACS3 sail is 9 meters on a side and deploys from a 12U CubeSat.
(ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ Recently announced, joining NEA Scout on Artemis I are two CubeSats from JAXA. EQUULEUS is a 6U CubeSat that will demonstrate low-energy trajectory control technologies at the Earth-Moon L2 point, and OMOTENASHI, which will attempt a sort-of soft landing on the Moon with a small rocket motor and an airbag, all in a 12 kg, 6U spacecraft!
(ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ A Tweet reminder from Mitch Ahrenstorff @AD0HJ: AMSAT-Twitter Meetup Net on DMR BrandMeister Talkgroup #98006 | YSF Reflector #11689 | Echolink *AMSAT* #101377 July 22nd 0200Z (Wednesday Night 9:00 PM CDT). Please stop by with your check-in and comments! Net Control tonight will be Mitch @AD0HJ #amsat #dmr #ysf #echolink
(ANS thanks Mitch Ahrenstorff @AD0H for the above information)

+ A number of interesting announcements and updates to QO-100 operation have been posted by AMSAT-Deutchland. This include a lecture by Dr. K-A Eichorn, DK3ZL about the DP0POL/MM Polarstern voyage, A QO-100 linux SDR, and that contests will be allowed on the upper mixed mode range of QO-100. Details are at: https://amsat-dl.org/en/
(ANS thanks AMSAT-Deutchland for the above information)

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

Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional student membership information.

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

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,

This week’s ANS Editor,

Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ, Associate Editor, AMSAT News Service
KD4IZ at arrl dot net

ANS-199 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for July 18

July 18, 2021 by Mark Johns

The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: [email protected]

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

In this edition:

AMSAT’s 39th Annual Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting To Be Held October 29-31
First Call for Papers for 2021 AMSAT Space Symposium
2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Being Held
May/June 2021 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Now Available
Youth on the Air Campers Enjoy Successful ISS Contact, Busy with Other Activities
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 15, 2021
NASA TV to Air Crew Dragon Port Relocation on Space Station
NASA TV to Air Launch of Space Station Module, Departure of Another
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-199 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2021 July 18

AMSAT’s 39th Annual Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting To Be Held October 29-31

The Symposium includes presentations, exhibit space, and the AMSAT Annual General Meeting. The preliminary schedule is presented below.

The AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting will be held before the Symposium, October 28-29, at the same hotel.

You can make hotel reservations by calling the hotel directly at (952) 854-9000 or (877) 424-4188 (toll free) or online by visiting crowneplazaaire.com. The group name is Amateur Satellite Group.

Registration is available on AMSAT’s Member Portal at https://launch.amsat.org/Events

Preliminary Schedule of Events (subject to change)
Thursday, October 28, 2021

0800 – 1200 AMSAT Board Meeting
1200 – 1300 AMSAT Board Lunch Break
1300 – 1700 AMSAT Board Meeting
1600 – 1900 Registration

Friday, October 29, 2021

Saturday, October 30, 2021

Sunday, October 31, 2021

0700 – 0900 AMSAT Ambassadors’ Breakfast

NOTE: All times are Central Daylight Time (CDT), UTC – 5 hours

[ANS thanks the 2021 AMSAT Symposium Committee for the above information]

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Join the 2021 President’s Club!
Score your 2″ 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin.
This gold finished coin comes with
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered “Remove Before Flight” Key Tag
Donate today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won’t want to miss it!
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First Call for Papers for 2021 AMSAT Space Symposium

This is the first call for papers for the 39th AMSAT Space Symposium to be held on the weekend of October 29-31, 2021 at the Crowne Plaza AiRE hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Proposals for symposium 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 n8fgv at amsat.org

[ANS thanks Dan Schultz, N8FGV, Symposium Program Committee, for the above information]

2021 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Being Held

Joseph Armbruster, KJ4JIO
Robert Bankston, KE4AL
Jerry Buxton, N0JY
Zach Metzinger, N0ZGO

To read candidate biographies see: https://launch.amsat.org/2021-BoD-Election

AMSAT members may access their ballots at: https://launch.amsat.org/Sys/Poll/25943

[ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information]

May/June 2021 Issue of The AMSAT Journal Now Available

The May/June 2021 issue of The AMSAT Journal is now available to members on AMSAT’s Member Portal.

The AMSAT Journal is a bi-monthly digital magazine for amateur radio in space enthusiasts, published by the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT). Each issue is your source for hardware and software projects, technical tips, STEM initiatives, operational activities, and news from around the world.

AMSAT members may download their copy at: https://launch.amsat.org/

Inside the Current Issue:

Apogee View – Robert Bankston, KE4AL
AMSAT Strategic Plan: A Roadmap for Success – Robert Bankston, KE4AL
Educational Relations Update – Alan Johnston, KU2Y
AMSAT Board of Directors Election – Jeff Davis, KE9V
Debugging AO-109 (RadFxSat-2, Fox-1E) – Burns Fisher, WB1FJ and Mark Hammond, N8MH
Working Portable with the Icom IC-9700 – Paul Philip, AC9O
A Really Cheap Portable Satellite Mount – Keith Baker, KB1SF / VA3KSF
Building a Tiny Satellite Ground Station – Mike Spohn, N1SPW

[ANS thanks The AMSAT Journal for the above information]

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Youth on the Air Campers Enjoy Successful ISS Contact, Busy with Other Activities

The first Youth on the Air (YOTA) camp for young radio amateurs in the Americas is under way in West Chester, Ohio. Among other activities, the campers have been operating special event station W8Y from both the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting and from the camp hotel. The camp wraps up with an hour-long closing ceremony on Friday, July 16.

“Things are going really well,” said Camp Director Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. The earlier launch of a balloon carrying a ham radio payload was successful, he said, and — after pinpointing where the payload landed some 3 hours away — the campers were able to retrieve the package, thanks to some understanding landowners. Rapp said the balloon reached approximately 100,000 feet.

Rapp said that campers have gotten along well from the first day, and problems in general have been few and minor.

Several of the approximately two dozen campers got to ask questions of ISS crew member Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, during a Tuesday Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. Responding to a query posed by Graham, KO4FJK, Hoshide said the most interesting things he’s seen from space included flying through an aurora and looking down at shooting stars from the ISS. He also said the ISS crew was able to view a partial lunar eclipse from space.

Another camper, Adam, KD9KIS, wanted to know how often the ISS crew members use the onboard ham station.

Hoshide said individual crew members may get on the radio every couple of weeks or so, or as the opportunity arises.

“This ARISS contact is intended to inspire these young hams to learn more about communication using amateur satellites and making ARISS radio contacts,” ARISS said in announcing the contact date. ARISS team member John Sygo, ZS6JON, in South Africa, served as the telebridge relay station for the late-morning event, which was streamed live via YouTube.

Rapp said he’s hoping this pilot camp venture will provide the information needed to replicate the camp over multiple locations for years to come. “We also hope this brings a more robust community of young hams into amateur radio,” he added.

The long-anticipated summer camp for up to 30 hams, aged 15 through 25, was set for last June, but it had to be rescheduled until summer 2021 because of COVID-19 pandemic concerns. The camp for young hams in the Americas took its cue from the summer Youngsters on the Air camps held for the past few years in various IARU Region 1 countries.

The Region 2 camp is aimed at helping participants to take their ham radio experience to the next level by exposing them to a variety of activities and providing the opportunity to meet other young hams. Activities include kit building, antenna building, transmitter hunting and direction finding, operating with digital modes, and launching a high-altitude balloon. Amateur satellite operation is one of the workshops provided. Others include effective radio communication, local ham radio history, and using amateur radio during emergencies. The YouTube channel features daily highlight videos.

W8Y has been on the air as campers complete projects, between sessions, and during free time, although some late-evening slots have been on the schedule.

The camp’s opening observance on Sunday featured keynote speaker Tim Duffy, K3LR, who told the campers, “Amateur radio is the best hobby in the world.”

Campers also saw a video presentation by International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 Youth Working Group chair Philipp Springer, DK6SP.

ARRL and The Yasme Foundation donated project kits for the campers. XTronics provided temperature-controlled soldering stations. The brochure on the Youth on the Air website includes more details about the camp. — Thanks to ARISS for some information

[ANS thanks ARISS and ARRL for the above information]

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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 15, 2021

The name of the following satellite has been changed in this week’s AMSAT TLE Distribution as follows:

The satellite owner actually uses a dash in the satellite name rather than a blank. The name of CubeBel 1 has been changed to CubeBel-1 (NORAD Cat ID 43666) to correct the satellite name.

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

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NASA TV to Air Crew Dragon Port Relocation on Space Station

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts on the International Space Station will relocate their Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft Wednesday, July 21, setting the stage for a historic first when two different U.S. commercial spacecraft built for crew will be docked to the microgravity laboratory at the same time.

Live coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m. EDT (10:30z) on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, KE5HOD, and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, KG5FYG, will board the Crew Dragon spacecraft about 4:30 a.m. and undock from the forward port of the station’s Harmony module at 6:45 a.m. The spacecraft will dock again at the station’s space-facing port at 7:32 a.m.

The relocation will free up Harmony’s forward port for the docking of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, scheduled for launch Friday, July 30, as part of NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission. The flight will test the end-to-end capabilities of Starliner from launch to docking, atmospheric re-entry, and a desert landing in the western United States. The uncrewed mission will provide valuable data about Boeing’s crew transportation system, and help NASA certify Starliner and the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for regular flights with astronauts to and from the space station.

This will be the second port relocation of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission lifted off April 23 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and docked to the space station April 24. Crew-2, targeted to return in early-to-mid November, is the second of six certified crew missions NASA and SpaceX have planned as a part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]

NASA TV to Air Launch of Space Station Module, Departure of Another

NASA will provide live coverage of a new Russian science module’s launch and automated docking to the International Space Station, and the undocking of another module that has been part of the orbital outpost for the past 20 years. Live coverage of all events will be available on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

The uncrewed Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM), named Nauka, the Russian word for “science,” is scheduled to launch at 10:58 a.m. EDT (14:58z) Wednesday, July 21 on a three-stage Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Live launch coverage will begin at 10:30 a.m.

Two days later, on Friday, July 23, the uncrewed ISS Progress 77 spacecraft will undock from the Russian segment of the station while attached to the Pirs docking compartment. With Pirs attached, Progress 77 is scheduled to undock at 9:17 a.m. (13:17z) Live coverage of undocking will begin at 8:45 a.m. A few hours later, Progress’ engines will fire in a deorbit maneuver to send the cargo craft and Pirs into a destructive reentry in the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. Deorbit and reentry will not be covered on NASA TV.

After Nauka completes eight days in free-flight to allow Russian flight controllers to evaluate its systems, the 43-foot long, 23-ton module will automatically link up to the port on the Earth-facing side of the Russian segment station, vacated by the departure of Pirs. Docking is scheduled for 9:25 a.m. Thursday (13:25z), July 29, with live coverage beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Nauka will serve as a new science facility, docking port, and spacewalk airlock for future operations. Pirs has been part of the space station since September 2001, functioning as a docking port for Russian visiting spacecraft and an airlock for Russian spacewalks.

For more than 20 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked on the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Through NASA’s Artemis program, the agency will send the first woman and the first person of color to the Moon’s surface, and eventually expand human exploration to Mars. Inspiring the next generation of explorers – the Artemis Generation – ensures America will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery.

[ANS thanks NASA 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.

YOTA 2021, West Chester, OH, telebridge via ZS6JON
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Akihiko Hoshide KE5DNI
Contact is go for: Wed 2021-07-14 15:03:16 UTC 58 degrees max elevation

TBD, Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Pyotr Dubrov
Contact is a go for Wed 2021-07-14 20:10 UTC

SpaceKids Global, Winter Park, FL, multi-point telebridge via IK1SLD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be TBD
The scheduled astronaut is Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD
Contact is go for: Wed 2021-07-21 17:47:21 UTC 51 degrees max elevation

Seinan Gakuin Junior Senior High School, Fukuoka, Japan, direct via 8N6SW
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Akihiko Hoshide KE5DNI
Contact is go for: Thu 2021-07-22 09:14:25 UTC 31 degrees max elevation

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

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

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

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AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.

Support AMSAT’s projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/

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Upcoming Satellite Operations

Quick Hits:

Major Roves:

WA7AA:
July 13-16 DN28 holiday style
July 17 DN38 holiday style
July 18 DN47/48 daytime passes
July 21-23 DN54 holiday style
July 25-27 DN64 holiday style
July 30-31 DN63 holiday style

July 7, 10, 11, 18 will all be planned trips just for Sat passes FM and SSB. I will try to publish passes ahead of time on Twitter and QRZ. The remainder of the trip will be camping in remote areas with little to no internet or Twitter. I will get info out as I can, but I won’t be able to setup skeds ahead of time. Lots of POTA activations on Sats and HF as well.

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

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

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

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

No upcoming events currently scheduled.

Contact AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, at http://www.work-sat.com or by phone at 909-999-SATS (7287)

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

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ NASA awarded a $935 million contract to Northrop Grumman to build and integrate the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module for the lunar Gateway, based off their Cygnus cargo craft, targeting a launch on a Falcon Heavy in late 2024. This module will house astronauts and provide command, control and power, plus three docking ports and mounting hardware for Canadarm3 [and very likely, an amateur radio station!]. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information).

+ Duct tape is really important in space. Among other things it was used by the crew of Apollo 13 to build their improvised carbon monoxide scrubber (called “gray tape” in the transcript). Amazingly, up until 2021 astronauts on the ISS just stuck it to the wall and had to remember where it was; SpaceX Crew-1 finally brought a duct tape dispenser which can be operated with one hand, allowing an astronaut to stabilize themselves with the other. Even more amazingly, the dispenser was designed by high school students as part of NASA HUNCH, a program that farms out tactical engineering problems to high schoolers. (ANS thanks The Prepared blog and The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ China launched five small satellites designed to detect and monitor global radio transmissions Friday, July 9, 2021 on top of a Long March 6 rocket, joining five similar spacecraft deployed in orbit in 2019. The five satellites belong to a fleet owned by Ningxia Jingui Information Technology Co. Ltd., a company that provides radio spectrum monitoring services to commercial and Chinese government customers. (ANS thanks SpaceFlightNow for the above information)

+ A record number of satellites were launched into orbit in 2020, according to the Satellite Industry Association’s (SIA) State of the Satellite Industry Report. By the end of 2020, there were 3,371 satellites orbiting Earth, an increase of 37% from 2019. The commercial satellite industry dominates the $371 billion global space economy, making up $271 billion, or nearly 73% of its revenue. (ANS thanks SatelliteToday for the above information)

+ NASA is announcing its 2021 Entrepreneurs Challenge to invite fresh ideas and new participants that will lead to new instruments and technologies with the potential to advance the agency’s science mission goals. To encourage entrepreneurs to participate in the challenge, the Science Mission Directorate will award finalists as much as $90,000 through a two-stage process. Details at https://www.nasa-science-challenge.com (ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information)

+ The Atmosphere–Space Interactions Monitor, or ASIM, installed outside the European space laboratory Columbus module on the ISS, has detected a ‘blue jet’—upward shooting lighting—that climbed to the interface between the stratosphere and the ionosphere. These have previously been associated with 10- to 30-microsecond pulses of intense radiation across the 3 to 300 MHz radio spectrum. More study is necessary to determine effects related to radio propagation. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index and ESA for the above information)

+ Virgin Galactic owner Richard Branson rocketed into space Sunday, an edge-of-the-seat sub-orbital test flight intended to demonstrate his company’s air-launched spaceplane is ready for passengers who can afford the ultimate thrill ride. Whether the view and a couple of minutes of microgravity are worth the $250,000 (which purportedly 600+ people are signed up to pay) is entirely a matter of opinion. But if you sign up, and plan to take along your hand-held ham transceiver, please let us know!

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

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,

This week’s ANS Editor,

Mark Johns, K0JM
k0jm at amsat dot org

ANS-185 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for July 4

July 4, 2021July 4, 2021 by Mark Johns

The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: [email protected]

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

In this edition:

“Clean Sweep” on Satellites Possible in 2021 13 Colonies Event
MIR-SAT1 Designated as MIRSAT-OSCAR 112 (MO-112)
Youth on the Air Camp 2021 to be On the Satellites
The AMSAT-SA Space Symposium on 10 July
VUCC Awards-Endorsements for July 1, 2021
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for June 30, 2021
NASA to Air Departure of SpaceX Cargo Dragon from Space Station
ARISS News
Upcoming Satellite Operations
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-185 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 185
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE, Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002

DATE 2021 July 4

“Clean Sweep” on Satellites Possible in 2021 13 Colonies Event

The 2021 edition of the annual 13 Colonies special event is July 1, 2021-1300 UTC to July 8, 2021-0400 UTC. This year, a “clean sweep” (working stations in all 13 states that were the original 13 U.S. Colonies) is possible via satellite! Yes, one or more stations in each state have volunteered to be active on the satellites this year.

More info on 13 Colonies is at http://www.13colonies.us/ including information on the exchange, logging, individual state QSLs, and certificates. DXsummit is recommended for spotting, and many of the satellite ops are active on Twitter and self-spot there as well.

The special event stations will identify with special calls as follows:
K2A – New York
K2B – Virginia
K2C – Rhode Island
K2D – Connecticut
K2E – Delaware
K2F – Maryland
K2G – Georgia
K2H – Massachutsets
K2I – New Jersey
K2J – North Carolina
K2K – New Hampshire
K2L – South Carolina
K2M – Pennsylvania
WM3PEN – Philadelphia bonus station
GB13COL – Great Britain bonus station
TM13COL – France bonus station

[ANS thanks Steve Greene, KS1G (one of the K2B/Virginia activators) for the above information]

MIR-SAT1 Designated as MIRSAT-OSCAR 112 (MO-112)

On June 22, 2021, MIR-SAT1 was deployed from the International Space Station by JAXA. MIR-SAT1 is a project of the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council and carries a digipeater and camera experiment. Further information is available at https://spacemauritius.com.

At the request of the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council, AMSAT hereby designates MIR-SAT1 as MIRSAT-OSCAR 112 (MO-112). We congratulate the owners and operators, thank them for their contribution to the amateur satellite community, and wish them a long mission and continued success on this and future projects.

ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations / OSCAR Number Administrator, for the above information.

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

Youth on the Air Camp 2021 to be On the Satellites

The first Youth on the Air (YOTA) camp for young radio amateurs in North, Central, and South America begins on July 11 in West Chester, Ohio. Among other activities, campers will be operating special event station W8Y from both the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester Township and from the camp hotel. The camp will run until July 16.

“We are at 23 campers,” said Camp Director Neil Rapp, WB9VPG. “We are very excited to finally bring this program to the Americas. Our young people are bringing an incredible lineup of hands-on sessions for their peers. We hope this pilot gives us the information we need to replicate this camp over multiple locations for years to come. We also hope this brings a more robust community of young hams into amateur radio.”

The long-awaited summer camp for up to 30 hams aged 15 through 25 had been set to take place in June 2020, but it had to be rescheduled until summer 2021 because of COVID-19 pandemic concerns. The camp for young hams in the Americas took its cue from the summer Youngsters on the Air camps held for the past few years in various IARU Region 1 countries.

W8Y will be on the air as campers complete projects, between sessions, and during free time. Dedicated operating times on HF will be Monday, July 12, 0100 – 0330 UTC; Tuesday, July 13, 0000 – 0330 UTC and 1800 – 2130 UTC. Dedicated satellite station operating times will be Thursday, July 15, 1400 – 1700 UTC, and Friday, July 16, 1500 – 1700 UTC.

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact is currently set for either Wednesday, July 14, at 1503 UTC, or KM4BUN operates as K8O during YOTA Month 2020.

Thursday, July 15, at 1416 UTC. It will be streamed live on the Youth on the Air YouTube channel. The camp opening observance on Sunday, July 11, 2100 – 2230 UTC, will feature keynote speaker Tim Duffy, K3LR. The hour-long closing ceremony on Friday, July 16, will get under way at 1700 UTC. The YouTube channel will also feature a daily video highlighting the activities of the previous day.

ARRL and The Yasme Foundation donated project kits for the campers. X Tronics provided temperature-controlled soldering stations. The brochure on the Youth on the Air website includes more details about the camp. For additional information, contact Camp Director Neil Rapp, WB9VPG.

[ANS thanks ARRL for the above information]

The AMSAT-SA Space Symposium on 10 July

The programme for the 2021 AMSAT SA Space Symposium has been published on the SARL and AMSAT SA websites.

Attendance for AMSAT SA and SARL members is free. There is a small charge for non-members.
The symposium will be held on the BlueJeans platform starting at 08:00 UTC on Saturday 10 July 2021.

The keynote address will be delivered by Val Munsami, the CEO of the South African National Space Agency. Dr Gary Immelman ZS6YI will talk about a novel way to get going on QO-100, amateur radios first geostationary satellite.

Dr Pierre Cilliers will talk about space weather activities at SANSA in Hermanus, Dr Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, lead of the HAMSci in the USA will present a paper entitled “The Ionosphere from your Backyard”, Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP and Anton Janovsky, ZR6AIC will review the development of AfriCUBE and Burns Fisher, WB1FJ of AMSAT NA will talk about Raspberry Pi in my shack, a push-button user interface”.

More details about the presentation will be released in the coming week. Keep an eye on http://www.amsatsa.org.za/

[ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information]

AMSAT’s GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar
panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The
journey will be worth it!

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF

VUCC Awards-Endorsements for July 1, 2021

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

Congratulations to Christy KB6LTY on achieving the AMSAT GridMaster!

CALL	June	July
K8YSE/7	842	872
KK5DO	781	793
NS3L	695	697
WD9EWK(DM43)	650	655
N9IP	635	640
PS8ET	550	600
VE6WK	404	512
VE1VOX	400	507
KF6JOQ	453	503
WB7VUF	404	455
W8LR	425	453
AK8CWDM37	425	451
KS1G	427	451
K5TA	400	450
KC7JPC	New	399
VE4MM	New	350
VE1CWJ	New	335
KN2K	253	300
N7ZO	275	300
AB1OC	267	285
EA2AA	251	280
N8URE(FM19)	263	279
KK4CF	100	200
K3HPA	150	176
RA3DNC	142	156
N8MR	115	154
KC1MMC	New	150
N1KM	New	150
VE3KY	128	150
WA7HQD	149	150
WD9EWK(DM54)	125	145
KC2JED	New	132
DL1DUO	New	130
HC2FG	New	130
WD9EWK(DM45)	106	127
DF2PI	New	116
N2VAJ	New	103
KE7RTB	New	100

If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at <mycall>@<mycall>.com and I’ll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It’s a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned.

Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing a lot of the work!

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

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for June 30, 2021

MIR-SAT1 (Mauritian Infra-Red Satellite 1) was launched from the Japanese ISS Kibo module at 10:55 UTC on 6-22-2021.

MIR-SAT1 has been identified as NORAD Cat ID 48868 as per Pierros Papadeas, SV1QVE and Nico Janssen, PA0DLO.

The current TLE for MIR-SAT1 per Space-Track are as follows:

MIR-SAT1
1 48868U 98067SP 21179.69602259 .00013025 00000-0 23878-3 0 9995
2 48868 51.6439 285.7711 0003006 182.6608 177.4342 15.49640979 1031

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

NASA to Air Departure of SpaceX Cargo Dragon from Space Station

NASA’s SpaceX Dragon cargo freighter, loaded with approximately 5,000 pounds of scientific experiments and other cargo from the International Space Station, will depart Tuesday, July 6, bound for a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean Thursday, July 8, completing the company’s 22nd commercial resupply services mission for NASA.

Live coverage of the departure will begin at 14:45z Tuesday, July 6, on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app. NASA will not provide coverage of the splashdown.

Ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, will command Dragon to undock from the space-facing port on the station’s Harmony module at 15:00z, with NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough monitoring aboard the station. The cargo craft will physically separate from the station five minutes later before firing its thrusters to move a safe distance away prior to a deorbit burn that will begin its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Dragon is expected to make its parachute-assisted splashdown around 04:00z Thursday, July 8.

Splashing down off the coast of Florida enables quick transportation of the science aboard the capsule to NASA’s Space Station Processing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and back into the hands of the researchers. This shorter transportation time frame allows researchers to collect data with minimal sample exposure to gravity.

Dragon launched June 3 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy, arriving at the station a little less than 16 hours later. The spacecraft delivered more than 7,300 pounds of research investigations, crew supplies, and vehicle hardware to the orbiting outpost. Dragon’s external cargo “trunk” carried six new ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs), two of which Expedition 65 crew members Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet, an ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut, installed during three spacewalks June 16, 20, and 25.

Some of the scientific investigations Dragon will return to Earth include:

* Lyophilization-2 examines how gravity affects freeze-dried materials and could result in improved freeze-drying processes for pharmaceutical and other industries. Freeze-drying also has potential use for long-term storage of medications and other resources on future exploration missions.
* Molecular Muscle Experiment-2 tests a series of drugs to see whether they can improve health in space, possibly leading to new therapeutic targets for examination on Earth.
* Oral Biofilms in Space studies how gravity affects the structure, composition, and activity of oral bacteria in the presence of common oral care agents. Findings could support development of novel treatments to fight oral diseases such as cavities, gingivitis, and periodontitis.

Learn more about SpaceX missions for NASA at: https://www.nasa.gov/spacex

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]

ARISS NEWS

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2021-07-01 04:30 UTC

Quick list of scheduled contacts and events:

TBD, Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The scheduled cosmotronaut is Pyotr Dubrov
Contact is a go for 2021-07-14 20:10 UTC

Watch for possible operation mode change sometime after ARRL Field Day. Exact date and time TBD but it will probably be after the week of 2021-07-12 to 2021-07-18.

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]

AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.

Support AMSAT’s projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/

Upcoming Satellite Operations

Upcoming Roves:
Quick Hits:

WY7AA: FI will be in FN02 starting 6/6 for a few weeks. Operating Sats. holiday style. If you need FN01, FN02, FN03, FN12 please let me know and we can try to set something up. FN01,03, and 12 will likely each be one day roves. FM and SSB

ND0C and KE0WPA: In June @kylee_ke0wpa and I, along with our resident photojournalist (Mom/Amy), will be taking a family excursion to the southwest and working some sats as time permits. Here are the less commonly worked grids from which we plan to operate. We will hit other grids too. DM67 6/15 – 6/17, DM56 6/18, DM45 6/19, DN63 7/2, DN64 7/2 & 7/3

N5LEX: CN98 last week of June.

VP2V/K3TRM: I will be operating from Tortola, British Virgin Islands as VP2V/K3TRM on July 4-17, 2021. Activity will be on 40-6M SSB & digital, and satellite.

DM62: K5TA, tentatively planning for DM62 ~9-July, when there are are several good passes mid-day, making it a doable day-trip.

EN57/67: @SeanKutzko KX9X and @Nancy_N9NCY will celebrate Sean’s birthday in the Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula July 15-19. Look for them on FM and SSB satellites, with the possibility of some Parks On The Air activity as well.

Major Roves:

WA7AA:
July 6-7 DN43 with a daytime rove to DN42/43/52/53 corner on 7/7
July 10 DN24 daytime passes
July 11 DN25 daytime passes
July 12 DN27 with a guest Gridmaster hopefully
July 13-16 DN28 holiday style
July 17 DN38 holiday style
July 18 DN47/48 daytime passes
July 21-23 DN54 holiday style
July 25-27 DN64 holiday style
July 30-31 DN63 holiday style

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

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

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space?

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

AMSAT Ambassador and ARRL registered instructor Clint Bradford, K6LCS, is certainly keeping busy! He reports a long list of completed online presentations. Think a 90-minute lively, informative, and fun “How to Work the Easy Satellites” Zoom presentation would be appropriate for your convention or club? Always includes are overviews of the ARRL, AMSAT, and ARISS … and pre-presentation questions are solicited and welcome. Send Clint an email or call!

Clint Bradford K6LCS
http://www.work-sat.com
909-999-SATS (7287)

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

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ AMSAT is pleased to announce that the 39th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting will be held in late October at the Crowne Plaza Suites: MSP Airport – Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Crowne Plaza Suites is conveniently located adjacent to the American Blvd station on the Metro Blue Line, providing easy access to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, downtown Minneapolis, and the Mall of America. The AMSAT Board of Directors will meet prior to the Symposium. Further details, including final dates, hotel reservation details, tours, and other events will be shared in the coming months. (ANS thanks the 2021 Symposium Committee for the above information)

+ D-Orbit, a European launch services company, has announced that they have launched the first “amateur” satellite from the nation of Kuwait. The launch was carried out on June 30 by a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The satellite, named “QMR-KWT” means “Moon of Kuwait”, translated from Arabic, appears to have been built commercially. It will transmit 9600 bps GMSK, as well as Morse ID of LZ0KWT, and a recording of the Kuwait National Anthem on 436.5 MHz. There is no record of international frequency coordination with the IARU. More information at https://www.orbitalspace.org/qmr-kwt (ANS thanks D-Orbit for the above information)

+ On the same June 30 SpaceX launch, which carried a total of 88 small satellites into orbit, was Painani-II, a 3U cubesat built by the University of the Mexican Army and Air Force. It will transmit telemetry, images, and AX25 packet on IARU-coordinated frequencies of 437.475 and 2410.300 MHz. (ANS thanks Spaceflight.com and IARU for the above information)

+ The ANS search engines have turned up myriad references to amateur satellites across the news media this week. Small town papers around the country picked up news releases from ham groups who were anxious to get the media contact bonus points added to their Field Day logs. It appears that many of these releases mention satellites for the “cool factor,” even when no satellite operation actually took place. Misinformation was abundant in the published articles. But as they say, any publicity is good publicity! (ANS thanks Mark Johns, K0JM, for the above information)

+ The Mauritius Amateur Radio Society (MARS) is still anxious for telemetry reports from the MIR-SAT 1 satellite launched on June 22. MIR-SAT 1 transmits on 436.925 MHz and decoders are available for download at https://github.com/daniestevez/gr-satellites/blob/master/python/telemetry/mirsat1.py (Thanks to Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ) or https://www.g0kla.com/pacsat/index.php (Thanks to Chris Thompson, AC2CZ). All received data should be uploaded to Satnogs.org, and award certificates may be received in exchange by applying to https://bit.ly/3qKyb0Q (ANS thanks Jean Marc Momple, 3B8DU, for the above information)

+ The first three “taikonauts” (as Chinese astronauts are often known) aboard China’s Tiangong space station are enjoying a menu of more than 120 dishes. Meals include shredded pork in garlic sauce, kung pao chicken, black pepper beef, pickled cabbage and many more. The foods are usually solid, boneless, in small pieces and selected to meet the astronauts’ personal tastes. CCTV also reports that astronauts use condiments such as pork sauce and Sichuan pepper sauce to help adjust to the temporary loss of sense of taste experienced in microgravity. The space agency also boasted that the station is equipped with a microwave oven, so that the crew can enjoy their food hot. (ANS thanks space.com for the above information)

+ Wally Funk, age 82, a pilot with more than 19,600 flight hours and best known as one of the “Mercury 13” group of women who passed NASA astronaut medical exams in the 1960s, will be on the first crewed New Shepard flight July 20, along with billionaire Jeff Bezos. NASA made no effort to fly the Mercury 13 women, and did not formally select any female astronauts until Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in June 1983. Funk will now be the oldest person yet to fly into space. (ANS thanks Spacenews.com for the above information)

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

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

ANS-178 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for June 27

June 27, 2021 by Mark Johns

The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: [email protected]

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

In this edition:

* AMSAT Announces Candidates for 2021 Board of Directors Election
* 39th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Announced
* MIR-SAT1 Released into Orbit from the ISS on June 22, 2021
* MIR-SAT1 Platinum Award Winners
* ARRL Field Day: Active satellites listing
* FO-29 Operation Schedule for July 2021 (UTC)
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for June 24, 2021
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-178 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 178.01
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002

DATE 2021 June 27

AMSAT Announces Candidates for 2021 Board of Directors Election

The nomination period for the 2021 Board of Directors Election ended on June 15, 2021. The following candidates have been duly nominated:

Joseph Armbruster, KJ4JIO
Robert Bankston, KE4AL
Jerry Buxton, N0JY
Zach Metzinger, N0ZGO

To comply with AMSAT’s Bylaws, an election will be held via AMSAT’s Wild Apricot membership system. Instructions for voting will be emailed by July 15, 2021 to all members who are in good standing as of July 1, 2021.

As four seats on the Board of Directors are up for election this year, all four candidates will be seated on the Board when the voting period concludes on September 15, 2021.

To ensure that they receive their voting instructions, members should make sure their current email address is up to date in AMSAT’s records. Members should log into the AMSAT Membership Portal at https://launch.amsat.org/ and check their account for their current email address. If a member has moved or changed their email address, they are encouraged to update their contact information at this time.

(Note: If they have not already done so, members can instantly create their membership account at that same page so they can inspect their record. A membership account is not the same as an AMSAT Store account.)

[ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary for the above information]

39th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Announced

AMSAT is pleased to announce that the 39th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting will be held in late October at the Crowne Plaza Suites: MSP Airport – Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.

The Crowne Plaza Suites is conveniently located adjacent to the American Blvd station on the Metro Blue Line, providing easy access to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, downtown Minneapolis, and the Mall of America.

The AMSAT Board of Directors will meet prior to the Symposium.
Further details, including final dates, hotel reservation details, tours, and other events will be shared in the coming months.

[ANS thanks the 2021 Symposium Committee for the above information]

MIR-SAT1 Released Into Orbit from the ISS on June 22, 2021

From Jean Marc Momple, 3B8DU: “Deployment of MIR-SAT1 into orbit from the ISS on June 22, 2021 at 10:55 UTC was broadcast live on JAXA Youtube channel starting at 10:35 UTC (14:35hrs local time). URL:

A video clip is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqXMy3NDZn0

Awards are offered by the Mauritius Amateur Society (MARS) see URL: https://mars3b8.wordpress.com/news/ good luck and good hunt.

Daniel Estévez, EA4GPZ, adds: For those interested in decoding this satellite, I have put up a short video in collaboration with UNOOSA showing how to use gr-satellites and GQRX to decode MIR-SAT1:
https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/access2space4all/index.html
https://spacemauritius.com/

Chris Thompson G0KLA/AC2CZ adds: “I have released an updated version of the Pacsat Ground station which now does a better job displaying the decoded beacons from Mir-Sat-1. It also fixes several small bugs in the conversions and in decodes. This also fixes a bug that impacts FalconSat-3 file downloads in some cases.

Download it from here: https://www.g0kla.com/pacsat/index.php
Let me know any issues or problems you see. Please continue to download telemetry for Mir-Sat-1 during their commissioning period. All telemetry is sent to SatNogs assuming you check “Send Server Telemetry” on the File.

You can see that your Mir-Sat-1 telemetry was uploaded here: https://dashboard.satnogs.org/d/TaZh29gnz/mir-sat1?orgId=1&refresh=30s

A post launch comment by Jean Marc: “We got a superb media coverage in 3B8 and FR on TV about MIR-SAT1 promoting amateur radio role and contribution to the project. I confirm that MIR-SAT1 is alive and TLM has been received by many stations, the firsts being by US stations, I also decoded well the TLM with Chris PsatGroundstation V0.41b which was successfully uploaded to Satnogs.

I wish to thanks all who sent me personal messages or through Twitter that they received the first MIR-SAT1 signals, it was a great joy to have confirmation that the birds was alive.

I also wish to thanks many HAMs to have supported the project from its initial stage, just to name a few which have been instrumental to make it happen, namely Chris Thompson, AC2CZ, Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ, Graham Shirville, G3VZV, Hans Blondel-Timmerman, PB2T, Pierros Papadeas, SV1QVE, and Patrick Dohmen, DL4PD, of Satnogs, but also many others worldwide and 3B8 peers who contributed in one way or another to make it happen.

I confirm that for the moment MIR-SAT1 is on TLM mode only and will keep all posted about progress.
As a personal note, today is a great day for me, just a childhood dream becoming true inspired by Neil Armstrong little step and well before obtaining my HAM license at the age of 16 and making my firsts satellite QSO on AO-07/AO—08 in 1980, thus enjoying the champagne right now writing. He adds:
“1) Thanks to all to who captured the signals of MIR-SAT1 and uploaded data to Satnogs DB, this is really useful to the MIR-SAT1 team.
2) 10 successful participants for the Platinum Award have been selected for having successfully uploaded at least a valid frame to Satnogs DB and applied for same, certificates will be issued and announcement of the winners will be published soon.
3) However, many have uploaded data to Satnogs but have not applied for the Award, they can still do so for the Gold certificate and their past upload data still valid, it a first come first serve game.
4) The telemetry frequency which was 4 minutes actually made it harder to decode particularly on low elevation, it is just a coincidence that it was set to 50 seconds for testing purposes when the Gold Award opens today (Platinum closed today).
5) The satellite is in good health and commissioning tests are being performed presently by the MIR-SAT1 team.
6) Digipeater and image broadcast activation date not yet decided as 5) above must be completed successfully and also having some more data about power available for same.
Will keep you informed”

ANS thanks Jean Marc Momple, 3B8DU, Daniel Estévez, EA4GPZ, and Chris Thompson G0KLA/AC2CZ for the above information]

MIR-SAT1 Platinum Award Winners

Winners of MIR-SAT1 Awards are:

S59ZM
PY4ZBZ
K4OZS
N6RFM
G8AFC
DK3WN
N8MH
JA0CAW
PU7ORD
3B8GL

Congratulations to them.

Their certificate has been sent by MARS a few minutes ago.

To note that the award criteria is based on following: First that one received telemetry of MIR-SAT1 and second the participation form on the MARS WEB has been submitted.

There are a few who successfully received MIR-SAT1 telemetry (even before the winners above) and uploaded same to Satnogs but have not submitted the participation form. They are still eligible for the Gold Award if they request same by filing their application on URL: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdCAAKTMtTmARDwrjIE_Coai1WR9b2zUFjBPFbOghMe63gqdg/viewform

Good luck for the Gold Award.

ANS thanks Jean Marc Momple, 3B8DU, for the above information]

AMSAT’s GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar
panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The
journey will be worth it!

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF

ARRL Field Day: Active Satellites Listing

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, has posted a list of the satellites likely to be active on Field Day at: https://www.amsat.org/satellites-likely-to-be-active-on-field-day-2021/

ARRL Field Day stations are reminded that only one satellite contact is admissable for the satellite “bonus” of 100 points. To assist as many stations as possible in their effort to make a contact, please make just a single contact and go to other modes. Please remember that satellites AO-7 and AO-91 HAVE POWER LIMITATIONS and should be accessed with care. Please note the limitations in the posted page and use those as operation guidelines.

Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, adds: “APRS operators, please note any errors on the operational status of APRS satellites as shown on this page: http://aprs.org/sats.html
I just updated it, so it will be a good resource for APRS satellites for Field Day”

[ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, AMSAT Executive Vice President, N8HM, and Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, for the above information]

FO-29 operation schedule for July 2021 (UTC)

Hideo Kambayashi, JH3XCU has posted the July operational schedule for FO-29 on the JARL website:

July
3rd 00:06- 10:20-
4th 00:55- 13:00-
10th 00:41- 10:57- 23:46-
11th 11:48- 13:32-
17th 01:15- 13:17-
18th 00:20- 12:23-
24th 00:05- 10:20- 23:12-
25th 12:58-
31st 00:39- 10:50- 23:44-
Aug.
1st 11:48-
Source: https://www.jarl.org/Japanese/3_Fuji/fuji3-202106.htm

[ANS thanks Hideo Kambayashi, JH3XCU, for the above information]

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for June 24, 2021

The following satellite was deployed from ISS on 6-14-2021 and has been added to this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:

MIR-SAT1 (Mauritian Infra-Red Satellite 1) was launched from the Japanese ISS Kibo module at 10:55 UTC on 6-22-2021. The NORAD Cat ID has not yet been determined. However, SatNOGS generated keps can be found on the Libre Space Community web site at: https://bit.ly/3vWRqF6

TLE (KEPS) have been updated and are available on the AMSAT website at: https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/

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

ARISS NEWS: Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of June 27, 2021

No new sessions have been announced for the coming week. However the session for Ecole publique de Bellême in Bellême, Pôle scolaire Igé/Le Gué de la Chaine in Belforêt en Perche, and Ecole de Nocé in Perche en Nocé, was rescheduled for June 26, 2021 at 11:25 am CEST (Bellême, France) (9:25 am UTC, 5:25 am EDT, 4:25 am CDT, 3:25 am MDT, 2:25 am PDT).

Three schools in France will participate in this ARISS contact: Ecole de Nocé, Pôle scolaire Igé/Le Gué de la Chaine and Ecole publique de Bellême. These are rural schools about 90 miles west of Paris and will involve about 360 students, age 6 – 15 years old. The schools have partnered with the amateur radio club (callsign F4KLQ) in preparation for this contact. Student-members of the ham club receive training from the adult members who have knowledge in the fields of radio, aeronautical, and the space sciences. Ham radio workshops include the topics: Orne Sky Sat, the Yaourtocom 2000, SSTV, Morse code, radio communication, and radio directional finding.

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

AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.

Support AMSAT’s projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/

Upcoming Satellite Operations

Quick Hits:

WY7AA: I will be in FN02 starting 6/6 for a few weeks. Operating Sats. holiday style. If you need FN01, FN02, FN03, FN12 please let me know and we can try to set something up. FN01,03, and 12 will likely each be one day roves. FM and SSB

EA4M: : Hi guys later in June I’ll be in IN73 on holidays, probably for a week or so, I will try some birds stay tuned on tweeter for schedules.

WA5RR: I’m looking at doing a rove in DL98 with an overnight stay in Eagle Pass, TX around the last week in June. Details to follow.

VP2V/K3TRM: I will be operating from Tortola, BVI as VP2V/K3TRM on July 4-17, 2021. Activity will be on 40-6M SSB & digital, and satellite.

N5LEX: CN98 last week of June.

DM62: K5TA, I’m tentatively planning for DM62 ~9-July, when there are are several good passes mid-day, making it a doable day-trip for me….

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

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

Satellites on Field Day: Seth Kutzko, KX9X, made an outstanding presentation to the RATPAC group on Satellites and Field Day. The session was held on Thursday May 27 during a weekly RATPAC meeting. Seth presented more than just a “how to”, his tips and tricks were very valuable for new entrants and his cautions were particularly well taken. This presentation is a must for any Field Day group that is contemplating chasing the 100-point bonus. Dan Marler, K7REX has made the presentation, documents, and the video available:

To View Video: https://vimeo.com/556034517
To Download Video: https://vimeo.com/user107547861/download/556034517/954b837d38
To Retrieve Documents: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/cktvhfz1lhvv8hr/AADzoAi0HiGccLLG6IdnY24Aa?dl=0Radio

AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford K6CLS is planning the following presentations:
Conejo Valley (CA) – October 21
Think a 90-minute lively, informative, and fun “How to Work the Easy Satellites” Zoom presentation would be appropriate for your convention or club? Always includes are overviews of the ARRL, AMSAT, and ARISS … and pre-presentation questions are solicited and welcome. Send Clint an email or call!
Clint Bradford K6LCS, http://www.work-sat.com. Tel:909-999-SATS (7287)

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, AMSAT Italia, Dan Marler, K7REX RATPAC Leader and ARRL Idaho Section Manager, and Clint Bradford, K6CLS AMSAT Ambassador for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ A number of questions have been asked about the operation status of Falconsat-3. Mark Hammond N8MH reports: “I suspect that FS-3 has just “crashed” and needs some attention. Usually that involves getting it back to a primitive level of operation and testing, and then reloading all of the spacecraft’s software. So, it’ll take some time. But I really do think we can recover it. Last reload was over 3.5 years ago! It takes a lot of preparation and sometimes multiple attempts to get all software loaded and running. Keep the hope :). Probably a couple weeks. [ANS thanks Mark Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Director and Command Station for the above information]

+ Tiangong has a crew, and China has a vision. Shenzhou-12 launched three Chinese astronauts on a Long March-2F from the Gobi Desert and ferried them to Tiangong (here’s a video of the docking). This means there are now two long-duration crewed habitats in Earth orbit for the first time since the 1970s when Skylab and Salyut stations both hosted humans on-orbit (Mir’s last crew departed just a few months before Expedition-1 arrived at the ISS). The three astronauts are slated to stay in the new station’s Tianhe core module for up to three months, breaking China’s 30-day record set during their last crewed spaceflight five years ago. [ANS thanks the Orbital Index for the above information]

+ A history of US research, development, and production of solar photovoltaic cells, which was driven by space applications early on. “In 1958, the U.S. Navy bolted solar panels to Vanguard 1, the second American satellite in space.” A commentary: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/06/why-the-us-doesnt-really-make-solar-panels-anymore-industrial-policy/619213/ [ANS thanks the Orbital Index for the above information]

+ CubeSat developments: Some interesting work in the CubeSat arena is documented at several links. Here are some discussions of:
Deployable mirrors: https://bit.ly/2TZNrdT
Wooden satellite construction: http://n.pr/2T3UqCd
Flexible tapemeasure antennas: https://bit.ly/3wSSmvH
[ANS thanks the Orbital Index for the above information]

+ A reminder for ARRL/AMSAT Field Day: JAMSAT has posted the FO-99 operating schedule for June at https://www.jamsat.or.jp/?p=1438 (ANS thanks JAMSAT for the above information)

+ Congratulations to Christy Hunter, KB6LTY, on working and confirming her 488th grid square in the continental United States. Christy worked John Brier, KG4AKV, operating portable in FM25 for the last grid she needed on June 11th. Christy is the 31st recipient of AMSAT’s GridMaster Award. More details about the GridMaster Award can be found at https://www.amsat.org/gridmaster/ [Thanks to Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards]

+ Congratulations to Jim Clary, ND9M. Jim is the 57th recipient of the AMSAT Rover Award. Jim applied for and received this award after working from numerous wet grids during his recent journey on the USNS Sgt. William R. Button through the Panama Canal to Saipan. More details about the AMSAT Rover Award can be found at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-rover-award/ [Thanks to Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards]

+ A new distance record has been claimed on TO-108. F4DXV completed a QSO with A65GC on 18-Jun-2021 at 08:55 UTC, covering a distance of 5,298.6 km. Also, a new distance record has also been claimed on the ISS crossband repeater. G0ABI worked VE1PK on 29-May-2020. This transatlantic QSO covered a distance of 4,403 km. All claimed satellite distance records can be found at https://amsat.org/satellite-distance-records/ [Thanks to Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President]

/EX

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

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