ANS

HAM Video DATV for the ISS Announced by ARISS

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ARISS-Europe Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF has drafted an overview of a new “Ham Video” DATV downlink system on S-Band being developed for placement on the International Space Station later this year.  The equipment is being developed by Kayser Italia under contract with the European Space Agency using a Canon XF-305 camera provided by NASA. The equipment is currently slated for deployment to the ISS on Japan Space Agency’s HTV-4 in August 2013. HTV is Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle for resupplying the International Space Station.

Gaston’s paper provides an overview of both the equipment that is being placed on the ISS as well as discusses ground station requirements.  The ESA contract calls for Kayser Italia to provide five ground stations for placement in Europe that will be “chained” to provide overlapping video reception coverage, with the British Amateur Television Club (BATC) serving as a central server site for receiving video from these ground stations and making it freely available to others via the internet.  It is hoped that amateurs will support other ground station “chains” in other countries as multiple stations are needed to provide up to 15 minutes of video in support of school contacts.

ISS DATV

ANS thanks Gaston Bartels, ON4WF for this information

Barry Baines, WD4ASW Interview with Amateur Radio Newsline

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HPIM6258
(L-R) AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, ARRL CEO Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, and AMSAT Vice President Engineering Tony Monteiro, AA2TX with the Fox-1 engineering model at the 2013 Dayton Hamvention. (KB1SF photo) Click on image to enlarge.

The weekly broadcast of the Amateur Radio Newsline interviewed AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW at the Dayton Hamvention about the Fox-1 cubesat and the current situation in working with ITAR regulations. This is included in Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1868, dated May 31 2013 and carried on-the-air during many nets and amateur radio news reports. Here is a transcript of the interview with Barry, titled, “HAMVENTION 2013:  PART 2 – WRAPPING IT UP”, by Amateur Radio Newsline’s Stephan Kinford, N8WB:

“While most tend to report on the Dayton Hamvention based on number of attendees and new equipment released or at least previewed, there is a lot more to this annual gathering. This is also a place where breaking news is first reported and according to AMSAT North America President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, hams involved in space communications had at least two things to smile about. The first was the announcement of a launch commitment for one of the group’s newest birds.

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Joe Spier K6WAO Joins ANS Editorial Staff

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JoeSpier
Joe Spier, W6WAO (left) conducting the ARISS contact during Pacificon 2012

Joe Spier K6WAO, of Weimar, CA has joined the AMSAT News Service as a rotating editor. Joe also serves AMSAT as Associate Director for Education. He was the contact liaison for the AMSAT sponsored Pacificon ARISS contact, last Fall. Look for Joe’s first ANS Bulletin, scheduled for release on June 9 as ANS 160. AMSAT welcomes Joe and thanks him for volunteering his time to the AMSAT News Service. Please send any news related to amateur radio in space to the ANS Editor mailbox at [email protected]..

Categories ANS

AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Solicited

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AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Solicited

It is time to submit nominations for the upcoming open seats on the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors. A nomination requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT-NA member for the position. Four director’s terms expire this year: Barry Baines, WD4ASW, Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, Drew Glasbrenner, K04MA, and Tony Monteiro, AA2TX.

In addition to traditional submission of written nominations, which remains unchanged and is the preferred method, nominations may be made by electronic means. These include e-mail, FAX, or electronic image of a petition. Electronic petitions should be sent to [email protected] or faxed to 301-608-3410. Written nominations, consisting of names, calls and individual signatures should be mailed to: AMSAT-NA, 850 Sligo Ave #600, Silver Spring, MD, 20910.

No matter what means is used, petitions MUST arrive no later than June 15th at the AMSAT-NA office. If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required. If it is other than this, i.e. electronic, a verifying traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT-NA office at the above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS.

Categories ANS