ANS-202 AMSAT News Service Bulletins for July 21

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-202

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.

The news feed on https://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://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans

In this edition:

  • AMSAT is proud to announce the relaunch of its AMSAT Ambassador Program
  • Watch for ISS, SSTV Activity
  • Nihon University Announces FO-99 US Operation Plan
  • FO-29 update from JARL
  • 2019 Mid-Year Fundraising Letter
  • 2019 37th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • ARISS News
  • Shorts From All Over

AMSAT is proud to announce the relaunch of its AMSAT Ambassador Program

The AMSAT Ambassador Program is an opportunity for AMSAT members to share what they’ve learned about amateur radio in space with others, and, in the process, help inspire the next generation of AMSAT’ers.

AMSAT Ambassador Program Goals:

  •  Educate other amateur radio operators and the general public on  amateur radio in space related subjects.
  •  Represent AMSAT by sharing enthusiasm for Amateur Radio in Space with others, whether at in-person events, practical demonstrations,    online, or in written communications, and share AMSAT’s mission and vision.
  •  Connect volunteers with potential members both in-person and online in a manner encouraging their affiliation by membership with AMSAT.
  •  Offer personal mentoring and coaching to new enthusiasts either in-person or via online means such as email, chat, and social media.
  •  Connect members and potential enthusiasts with proper resources at AMSAT when they seek more knowledge, volunteer to serve, or have    concerns with the organization.

Become an AMSAT Ambassador and do your part towards making this happen by informing people about the value of amateur radio in space and encouraging their support and involvement. Please visit the AMSAT Ambassador Program webpage for more information: https://www.amsat.org/ambassador/

73,

Robert Bankston, KE4AL Vice-President, User Services, Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT, Director, AMSAT Ambassadors

Watch for ISS, SSTV Activity

ARISS SSTV activity is planned for various times during the week of July 29 through Aug 4. As more specific dates and times are determined, they will be made available at the ARISS website (www.ariss.org) and at the official ARISS facebook page at Amateur Radio On The International Space Station (ARISS).

[ANS thanks Dave, AA4KN for the above information]

New 2019 AMSAT Apparel Now Available on the Web
Didn’t make it to Hamvention but you want the latest in AMSAT haberdashery?
The new 2019 tee-shirts, polo shirts and hats are now available in the AMSAT online store.
Browse the styles and sizes online and put your order in today at
https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-apparel/

 Nihon University Announces FO-99 US Operation Plan

PlaceOperationDateAOSLOSMax. Elevation
Washington, DCTransponderJuly 27 02:28:4302:39:5335.08
Topeka, KSTransponderAug 10 03:46:43 03:57:57 31.35
Denver, COSSTVAug 2403:30:20 03:41:50 50.01
All times UTC

Operation will be performed from 5 minutes before AOS to 5 minutes after LOS. Total operation time is about 20 min. The operation may be cancelled if uplink is not received.

[ANS thanks Nihon University for the above information.]

2019 marks AMSAT’s 50th Anniversary of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
To help celebrate, we are sponsoring the AMSAT 50th Anniversary Awards Program.
Full details are available at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-50th-anniversary-awards-program/

FO-29 update from JARL

“Analog transmitters of Fuji No. 3 (FO-29) have been suspended since July 9, 2019. Currently, we are doing situation grasp and information gathering, but we will inform you as soon as the situation is understood.

If you have telemetry data after July 8th (UTC), please send it to the following address. [Transmission destination of telemetry data] oper (at) jarl.org

Thank you for your cooperation in collecting information on “Fuji No. 3″ of many users.

JARL Secretariat Member Section Fuji 3 Telemetry Section”

Source: https://www.hamlife.jp/2019/07/17/fo29-jas2-silent/

[ANS thanks hamlife.jp for the above information]

2019 Mid-Year Fundraising Letter

The following funraising letter from AMSAT President Joe Spier, K6WAO, was recently mailed to all AMSAT members. Please consider a one-time or recurring donation today.

Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)
10605 Concord St, #304
Kensington, MD 20895-2526 USA

July 10, 2019 AMSAT Member,

I am writing to provide an update to the membership on AMSAT’s activities and invite everyone to our 50th Anniversary AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting, to be held October 18-20, 2019. For more details, go to https://www.amsat.org/amsat-symposium/. I hope to see you there!

It takes considerable volunteer effort and real dollars to keep Amateur Radio in Space™.  AMSAT needs some important assistance in the areas of User Services and Engineering. If you would like to volunteer, please contact me at [email protected]. You may also assist AMSAT by making a tax-deductible contribution. AMSAT has several fundraising needs. The daily operation of AMSAT is accomplished by donations to the General Fund. This fund is also used to fill other department needs. The other main department needs are the fund for GOLF (Greater Orbit, Larger Footprint) 3U CubeSats design/construction and ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station).

AMSAT has had success in the launch of AO-92 (Fox-1D) in January of 2018 and the launch of AO-95 (Fox-1Cliff) in December of 2018. AO-95 achieved orbit and the beacon functions properly, unfortunately the satellite’s receiver is not operational. AMSAT Engineering and Operations are trying to determine the cause of the issue. AMSAT partnered with Spaceflight Inc. by contracting and paying for these launches. Fundraising for Fox series satellites have not yet recouped this expenditure, so donations are still being accepted. AMSAT is expecting the launch of RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E), our partnership with Vanderbilt University, by no earlier than the end of summer. RadFxSat-2 will launch on the ELaNa XX mission, on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne, and carry an AMSAT V/u linear transponder and radiation experiments for Vanderbilt University. AMSAT is also partnering with several universities to fly this linear transponder on their CubeSats. The first of these will fly on HuskySat-1, from the Husky Satellite Lab at the University of Washington, later this year.

AMSAT has been selected for two CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) opportunities for GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1. GOLF’s 3U spaceframe is being designed with versatility to add mission specific radios, power supplies, and experiments. A series of GOLF CubeSats will provide better coverage and a greater footprint will allow more coverage by fewer satellites. GOLF also allows AMSAT to continue and expand partnerships with universities, NASA and others. GOLF will also provide for additional experimental payloads such as GPS, satellite interlinking, and others.  Your donations help AMSAT keep GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1 on schedule.

The first GOLF CubeSat, GOLF-TEE, will jump start the GOLF program with a launch to LEO as early as 2020. GOLF-TEE will use Attitude Determination and Control (ADAC) and an experimental 5 GHz /10 GHz software defined radio transponder.

AMSAT will benefit by gaining knowledge as well as hardware for future missions. GOLF-TEE also provides an opportunity to fly projects that have been developed by AMSAT’s Advanced Satellite Communications and Exploration of New Technology (ASCENT) “skunk works” program. GOLF-TEE will carry a Fox-1E design V/u linear transponder and new RadFx (Radiation Effects) experiment like that in AO-85 for Vanderbilt University, but testing FinFET technology.

GOLF-1 will aim for higher LEO orbit as the first official “Greater Orbit, Larger Footprint” AMSAT CubeSat. Launch is targeted for 2020-2021.

You may make a one time or recurring donation to AMSAT at https://www.amsat.org/donate/.

As of this writing, the ARISS FundRazr has raised $33,250 of the $150,000 for critical amateur radio infrastructure upgrades on ISS to enable students to talk to astronauts in space via amateur radio. ARISS is in critical need of this infrastructure update. Through your donations ARISS seeks the following upgrades:

  • Next Generation radio system will support easier radio mode   transition, to enable new, exciting capabilities for hams, students   and the general public including:
  • New amateur radio communication and experimentation capabilities,  including an enhanced voice repeater and updated digital packet   radio (APRS) capabilities
  • Slow Scan TV (picture up and downlinks) in both the US and Russian segments of ISS
  • New multi-voltage power supply (MVPS) will support present and future radio capabilities and allow wireless experiments to be conducted

ARISS is building 10 Next Generation Radio Systems to support our development, on-orbit operations, training and long-term maintenance. This includes units on-orbit (2 units–1 unit each in US and Russian segment), flight spares (2 units), training (3 units), testing (1 unit) and ground-based maintenance & troubleshooting (2 units). ARISS has kicked off a FundRazr campaign for this initiative. The project is scheduled for delivery by the end of this year.

AMSAT is also working with our ARISS partners to develop an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Stay tuned for more details on this exciting project.

You may make a one time or recurring donation to ARISS by clicking the ARISS Donations button at https://www.amsat.org/donate or directly to the FundRazr at https://fundrazr.com/arissnextgen.

Help Keep Amateur Radio in Space™
Thanks! Joe Spier, K6WAO
President, AMSAT

[ANS thanks Joe K6WAO for the above information]

2019 37th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting

Please join us for the 2019 AMSAT 50th Anniversary Symposium, to be held in the Washington, DC Metro Area on October 18, 19, and 20, 2019.

The Symposium venue will be the Hilton Arlington, located in the heart of the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington, VA. The Hilton Arlington is located at 950 North Stafford Street, Arlington, Virginia, 22203, USA TEL: +1-703-528-6000 and the reservation code is AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation). Connected to the Ballston Metro Station, the hotel offers easy and effortless access to Washington DC’s top tourist destinations like the National Mall, Smithsonian Museums and historic monuments. The hotel is six miles from Reagan National Airport and the National Mall. There are plenty of restaurants nearby.

The Symposium will feature OSCAR Park – a display of satellites from throughout the history of amateur radio in space – paper presentations, and a banquet with speakers celebrating AMSAT’s long history, and other events. The AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting will be held on October 16th and 17th at the same hotel. Two guided tours are available. On Sunday, October 20th a bus tour to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum is available for $30 (max 35 people) and on Monday, October 21st, AMSAT President Joe Spier will lead a day tour to the National Mall via the Metro.

So please plan on attending the 50th Anniversary Symposium – you will be glad you did and keep checking the AMSAT website for further updates and information. https://www.amsat.org/amsat-symposium/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]

Upcoming Satellite Operations – As of July 19, 2019

  • Remember to check out W3ZM On the Road for additional upcoming activations! https://www.amsat.org/events/was-w3zm/
  • Wyoming and Montana (DN62, DN63, DN64, DN65, DN54)  July 20-27, 2019 
    RJ, WY7AA, will be roving in DN62 and DN63 for the 16:00-20:00 UTC. FM passes, Sat. July 20th. On Sun. July 21st, he will work one pass only from DN65, SO-50 at 16:58 UTC.  For the remainder of the week, RJ will be camping in DN64, working holiday style FM and linears, with one side trip during the week for a few FM passes from DN54.  RJ will try to get word to Twitter when he plans to do so, but expects to be without Twitter for the trip, and likely out of cell phone range, as well. #unplugged
  • St Lucia, (FK94) July 21 – August 3, 2019 
    Frank, K3TRM, will be operating as J6/K3TRM from Gros Islet, St. Lucia (FK94mb) between July 21 – August 3, 2019. Activity will be on 40-6M using SSB, CW, and Digital (RTTY & FT8) and satellite. More info available on Frank’s QRZ page: https://www.qrz.com/db/J6/K3TRM and Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/k3trm
  • CY9 St. Paul Island (FN97) – July 31 to August 8, 2019 
    CY9C will be on St. Paul Island July 31st through August 8th.  This is an all bands/mode dxpedition, with EME and Sats as well.  More info available at http://cy9c.com/index.html.
  • Florida Keys (EL95) August 4-11, 2019 
    Philippe, EA4NF will be operating from EL95 (Key Largo and Brickell Key) as KC3NSG, from August 4 to 11, 2019.  FM and Linears.  QSL via LoTW.  Keep an eye on Philippe’s Twitter feed for further updates: https://twitter.com/EA4NF_SAT
  • Washington Invasion (CN96/96 & DN06/07/17/17) – August 9-10, 2019 
    Casey, KI7UNJ, will be heading North to invade the State of Washington, August 9th and 10th. Keep an eye on Casey’s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ
  • St Pierre et Miquelon (GN16) – August 10-18, 2019
    A DXpedition is planned to St Pierre et Miquelon, August 10th through the 18th. The team will operate as T05M will from Ile aux Marins on 6-160m, but there is a possibility of some FM Satellites. Keep an eye on their website for updates: http://fp2019.net/
  • Santa Rosa Island, CA (CM93) – August 12-14, 2019 
    Ron, AD0DX, is heading back to Santa Rosa Island, August 12th -14th. When not distracted by the feathered-birds, Ron will be on FM and linear satellites as W6R.  Keep an eye on Ron’s Twitter feed for updates at the dates get closer.  https://twitter.com/ad0dx
  • 6Y Jamaica (FK18) AUGUST 12-19, 2019 
    Philippe, EA4NF will be operating from JAMAICA (IOTA NA-097 – Grid FK18) in Satellite with the special call 6Y4NF from August 12 to 19, QRV Satellite in FM and SSB. QSL via LoTW.  Keep an eye on Philippe’s Twitter feed for further updates: https://twitter.com/EA4NF_SAT.

Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org

[ANS thanks Robert KE4AL for the above information]

AMSAT and ARISS are currently supporting a FundRazr campaign to raise
$150,000 for critical radio infrastructure upgrades on ISS. The upgrades are
necessary to enable students to continue to talk to astronauts in space via
Amateur Radio. We have reached a great milestone with $33,250 raised 
or about
17% towards our goal. This would not have been possible without your
outstanding generosity!!
For more information and to DONATE TODAY visit:
https://fundrazr.com/arissnextgen?ref=ab_e7Htwa_ab_47IcJ9

ARISS News

  • 2019-07-16 19:35 UTC between Cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin using ISS callsign RSØISS and About Gagarin From Space. Performing amateur radio communication session with the 8th International Aerospace School. U.N. Sultanova rep. Bashkortostan Aerospace School of. U.N. Sultanova summer camp, Kalinovka, Davlekanovsky, Russia Contact was direct via  RZ9WWB. ARISS Mentor was Sergey RV3DR
  • Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule 24th World Scout Jamboree, Summit Bechtel Scout Reserve, West Virginia, telebridge via ON4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Sat 2019-07-27 18:27:56 UTC

[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN 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/

Shorts From All Over

  • CAS-7B Launch July 25, 2019 Planned to launch CAS-7B at 05:00:00UTC on July 25, 2019, the launch vehicle Hyperbola-1 will run for 862.0206 seconds and then CAS-7B satellite will be deployed at 05:14:22.0206
    CAS-7B(BP-1B)
    1 99999U          19206.21831019 -.00000000  00000-0  00000-0 0 00001
    2 99999 042.7339 008.2068 0013606 285.8754 218.2911 15.94575754000011
    [ANS thanks Alan, BA1DU for the above information]
  • Tweet from AMSAT-UK AMSAT-UK (@AmsatUK) tweeted at 2:28 PM on Fri, Jul 19, 2019: #Peru: Holders of the 100 watt Novice (Class C) #AmateurRadio license have been granted access to 144-146 MHz (previously just 146-148) and the entire 70cm band. They are now permitted to use the Satellites. https://t.co/lHMwcq0two#hamradio #hamr (https://twitter.com/AmsatUK/status/1152314187344990210?s=03)
    [ANS thanks @Amsat-UK 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 office.

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 six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information.

73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week’s ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, AA8EM
aa8em at amsat dot org

ANS-195 AMSAT News Service Bulletins for July 14

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-195

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.

The news feed on https://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://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans

In this edition:

  • 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Ballots Sent
  • New Orbitrack iOS app free for Apollo 11 Anniversary
  • Help Needed – JAISAT-1 Telemetry
  • Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 11, 2019
  • How to Support AMSAT
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Satellite Shorts from All Over

The 50th Anniversary AMSAT Space Symposium will be held
October 18-20 in Arlington, VA. For details, see:
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-symposium/

2019 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Ballots Sent

AMSAT members should expect to see ballots for the 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors election arriving in their mailboxes. The ballots have been
sent for printing and will be mailed on or before July 15.

The 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors election will be conducted differently than in past elections. In previous years, the balloting process was handled by multiple vendors. This year, AMSAT has contracted with a single, independent party, ElectionBuddy, to conduct and fully manage the election process.

You may cast your ballot by visiting a unique URL or utilizing the QR code printed on the mailing. You also have the option of returning your paper ballot in the supplied envelope to the AMSAT office. Please do not include any other correspondence in this envelope. It will be opened only by ElectionBuddy. If you do not receive your ballot, you will need to contact ElectionBuddy via email: amsat at electionbuddy.com.

Individual candidates’ statement of qualification (biographies) are displayed on the ElectionBuddy website available to voters and are available on AMSAT’s website: https://www.amsat.org/2019-board-statements/

Because AMSAT has contracted ElectionBuddy for a fully managed election, they will be voters’ single point of contact regarding any ballot issues. The AMSAT Secretary or Office Manager may direct you to contact ElectionBuddy in situations deemed part of this fully managed election. Questions will not be answered on the AMSAT-BB or organizational Social Media accounts.

In the previous election announcement, it was mentioned that voters would have the option to request a special paper ballot. The election process has been modified to eliminate this need. A single mailing has been designed to better accommodate traditional and online voting.

Sincerely,
Clayton L. Coleman, W5PFG
AMSAT Secretary

[ANS thanks AMSAT Secretary Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, for the above information.]

New Orbitrack iOS app free for Apollo 11 Anniversary

On the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s first manned moon landing, a new iOS app – Orbitrack – lets you explore the universe of spacecraft in orbit around our home planet today, using cutting-edge augmented and virtual reality technology.

Better yet: for just one day, July 20th, 2019, Orbitrack (normally $4.99) will be offered for free on the iTunes Store.

>From the original developer of the award winning SkySafari™ apps, Orbitrack is the first new release from Southern Stars since 2014. It includes spectacular new graphics, incredibly detailed 3D spacecraft models, fascinating illustrated mission descriptions, and a new database of more than 8,000 satellites updated daily from n2yo.com and celestrak.com.

Orbitrack includes many classified military satellites, and SpaceX’s new Starlink mega-communications-satellite constellation. Both visual and radio observers will appreciate Orbitrack’s up-to-date catalog, which includes frequencies and call signs for amateur radio satellites, and predicts satellite passes and Iridium flares.

Orbitrack’s brand new voice-controlled virtual reality mode works with any iPhone-compatible VR headset. And its rewritten augmented reality (AR) capability lets you identify satellites passing across the sky in real time, using you phone’s GPS, camera, and motion-sensing hardware.

Orbitrack supports the latest Apple hardware and showcases the latest iOS technologies. Southern Stars founder Tim DeBenedictis writes, “When Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon, there were only 159 satellites in orbit. Today, there are well over 40,000. The computing power of the entire lunar module would be dwarfed by today’s smallest cell phones. Offering our latest satellite tracking app for free seemed a good way to celebrate the past, while also looking forward to the future of spaceflight, both manned and unmanned.”

To download Orbitrack for iOS devices from the iTunes Store, follow this link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/orbitrack/id1092984911?mt=8

Available today for iOS devices, Orbitrack will be available for Android in the 2nd half of 2019.

[ANS thanks Southern Stars for the above information]

New 2019 AMSAT Apparel Now Available on the Web
Didn’t make it to Hamvention but you want the latest in AMSAT haberdashery?
The new 2019 tee-shirts, polo shirts and hats are now available in the AMSAT online store.
Browse the styles and sizes online and put your order in today at
https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-apparel/

Help Needed – JAISAT-1 Telemetry

JAISAT-1, a 3U CubeSat developed by the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand was launched on July 5, 2019. The satellite carries a VHF/UHF linear transponder for amateur radio use.

The Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST) and the JAISAT-1 Project Teamare urgently seeking raw data that can be received from all packets worldwide. Please send raw data and KSS files to RAST by email at jaisatonetele at gmail.com.

The JAISAT-1 beacon signal is transmitted on 435.700 MHz in GMSK Mobitex 4800 bps mode. Two other satellites on this launch also use
this engineering frequency.

The code for JAISAT-1 frames 1 in row 11 is:
41 (0x29) – JAISAT UHF1
42 (0x2A) – JAISAT UHF2

Example of signals in this format can be found with the the reception of signals from the satellite.

JAISAT-1 has been identified as 2019-038F. TLEs are below:

2019-038F
1 44419U 19038F 19190.66730395 .00001667 00000-0 10000-3 0 9996
2 44419 97.4914 152.5407 0020014 233.1737 126.7422 15.12176922 634

[ANS thanks Tanan Rangseeprom, HS1JAN, JAISAT Project Manager for the above information.]

2019 marks AMSAT’s 50th Anniversary of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
To help celebrate, we are sponsoring the AMSAT 50th Anniversary Awards Program.
Full details are available at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-50th-anniversary-awards-program/

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 11, 2019

The following Amateur Radio satellites have been removed from this week’s TLE distribution. They are part of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy STP-2 launch of June 25,2019 at 06:30 GMT from launch pad LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center. They have been identified by Space-Track.

OBJECT B – NORAD CAT ID 44340 – NPSAT1 (Non-Radio Amateur)
OBJECT C – NORAD CAT ID 44341 – OTB (Non-Radio Amateur)
OBJECT E – NORAD CAT ID 44343 – FORMOSAT7-3/COSMIC2-3 (Non-Radio Amateur)

The following Amateur Radio satellite has been added to this week’s TLE distribution.

LightSail-2 – NORAD CAT ID 44420 – Separated from PROX-1, CAT ID 44330

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

Purchase AMSAT gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase
price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space

https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

How to Support AMSAT

AMSAT relies on the support of our members and the amateur radio community to Keep Amateur Radio in Space. How can you help?

  1. Join AMSAT 
    Both you and AMSAT will benefit when you join. You get the AMSAT Journal bimonthly and support from AMSAT Ambassadors. Member dues and donations provide AMSAT’s primary support. Join today at https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-membership/
  2. Become a Life Member 
    Becoming a Life Member has never been easier. Now you can become a Life Member with 12 monthly payments of $74 through our online store. See https://www.amsat.org/product/lifetime-membership/ for details.
  3. Donate to AMSAT 
    Make a one time or recurring donation to AMSAT today. Even as little as one dollar a month can make a difference! Donate today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
  4. Purchase AMSAT gear on our Zazzle storefront.
    AMSAT receives 25% of the price of each sale on AMSAT logo merchandise from our Zazzle storefront located at  https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
  5. Support AMSAT when you make purchases from Amazon!
    So far, AMSAT has received $3,913.29 from AmazonSmile. Search for “Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation” https://smile.amazon.com/ref=smi_ext_twt_dshb_smi
  6. Volunteer for AMSAT 
    AMSAT relies on volunteers for nearly all of our activities. If you have an idea for how to help, please let us know, Details on
    volunteering can be found at https://www.amsat.org/volunteer-for-amsat/

[ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information.]

AMSAT and ARISS are currently supporting a FundRazr campaign to raise
$150,000 for critical radio infrastructure upgrades on ISS. The upgrades are
necessary to enable students to continue to talk to astronauts in space via
Amateur Radio. We have reached a great milestone with $33,250 raised 
or about
17% towards our goal. This would not have been possible without your
outstanding generosity!!
For more information and to DONATE TODAY visit:
https://fundrazr.com/arissnextgen?ref=ab_e7Htwa_ab_47IcJ9

Upcoming Satellite Operations

  • Iceland (HP93, HP94, HP95, IP03, IP05, IP13, IP14, IP15, IP24, IP25, IP35) – July 13-19, 2019
    Adam, K0FFY, is taking his family (and his radios) to Iceland. He’ll be staying in HP95 on July 13, IP15 on July 14-15, IP25 on July 16, IP03 on July 17-18, and HP94 on July 19. In total, he’ll be passing through HP93, HP94, HP95, IP03, IP05, IP13, IP14, IP15, IP24, IP25, IP35. There’s a lot to see, so passes will be best effort & announced on Twitter shortly prior. https://twitter.com/K0FFY_Radio
  • CY9 St. Paul Island (FN97) – July 31 to August 8, 2019
    CY9C will be on St. Paul Island July 31st through August 8th. This is an all bands/mode dxpedition, with EME and Sats as well. More info available at http://cy9c.com/index.html
  • Washington Invasion (CN96/96 & DN06/07/17/17) – August 9-10, 2019
    Casey, KI7UNJ, will be heading North to invade the State of Washington, August 9th and 10th. Keep an eye on Casey’s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ
  • St Pierre et Miquelon (GN16) – August 10-18, 2019
    A DXpedition is planned to St Pierre et Miquelon, August 10th through the 18th. The team will operate as T05M will from Ile aux Marins on 6-160m, but there is a possibility of some FM Satellites. Keep an eye on their website for updates: http://fp2019.net/
  • Santa Rosa Island, CA (CM93) – August 12-14, 2019
    Ron, AD0DX, is heading back to Santa Rosa Island, August 12th -14th. When not distracted by the feathered-birds, Ron will be on FM and linear satellites as W6R. Keep an eye on Ron’s Twitter feed for updates at the dates get closer. https://twitter.com/ad0dx

Remember to check out W3ZM On the Road for additional upcoming activations! https://www.amsat.org/events/was-w3zm/

[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, 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/

Satellite Shorts from All Over

  • FO-29 has been offline since approximately 22:00 UTC on July 9th. The amateur satellite community awaits word from the satellite’s operator, JARL, on the situation.
  • AMSAT Operations activated the Virginia Tech Camera on AO-92 on July 10th and July 11th in support of the ARRL Teachers Institute. Images
    captured can be found at http://www.amsat.org/tlm/showImages.php?id=4
  • AMSAT Operations reports that AO-85 is shutting down each eclipse. The satellite turns on several minutes after entering sunlight, when voltages reach adequate levels to operate the satellite hardware.
  • Virgin Orbit conducted a successful drop test of LauncherOne on July 10th. This was the final test prior to the first test flight of the new air launch system. AMSAT’s RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E is scheduled to fly on the second launch of the LauncherOne, as early as late this summer. Details on the test can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-195-VO
  • The AMSAT Board of Directors meeting minutes page was updated with recent minutes.
    https://www.amsat.org/minutes-of-the-board-of-directors/
  • AMSAT financial audit/review reports and IRS Form 990 filings can be found at
    https://www.amsat.org/audit-and-other-financial-reports/
  • EA4GPZ’s blog contains several updates on images captured by LO-94. See https://destevez.net/ for details.
  • This week’s Flashback Friday Tweet from @AMSAT: https://twitter.com/AMSAT/status/1149667412779786240 In the late 1970s, the AMSAT-GOLEM-80 Microcomputer Project was designed as a low-cost and expandable Z80 or 8080 based microcomputer for amateur radio applications. Details can be found in the Sept 1979 issue of Byte Magazine. https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1979-09/page/n183

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 office.

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 six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information.

73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,

This week’s ANS Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org

ANS-188 AMSAT News Service Bulletins for July 7

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-188

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.

The news feed on https://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://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans

In this edition:

  • 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Update
  • Candidates for the AMSAT Board of Directors Announced
  • Frank Karnauskas, N1UW Appointed as AMSAT VP for Development
  • First Ever Contact via Moon Orbiting Transponder LO-94
  • First Call for Papers for the 50th Anniversary AMSAT Symposium
  • Take W3ZM on the Road!
  • ARISS-International Delegates Meet in Montreal
  • JAISAT-1 telemetry beacon downlink on 435.325 MHz FM 4k8 GMSK
  • Additional Amateur Radio Payloads to Launch with JAISAT-1
  • VUCC Awards-Endorsements for July
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

2019 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Update

The 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors election will be conducted differently than in past elections. In previous years, the balloting process was handled by multiple vendors. This year, AMSAT has contracted with a single, independent party, ElectionBuddy, to conduct and fully manage the election process.

A ballot card will be mailed to all current members in accordance with the organization’s by-laws by or on July 15, 2019. You may cast your ballot by visiting a unique URL or utilizing the QR code printed on the card.  If you do not receive your ballot, you will need to contact ElectionBuddy.  ElectionBuddy will be responsible for distributing ballots, collecting ballots, and tallying votes.

Individual candidates’ statement of qualification (biographies) will be published on AMSAT’s website and will be displayed on the ElectionBuddy  website available to eligible voters.

AMSAT believes this voting system will result in greater election integrity as it removes the potential for any perceived conflicts of interest.  ElectionBuddy will manage AMSAT’s voter list and interaction with members regarding the election. This ensures voter anonymity. Individual ballot responses will never be shared with any volunteer or paid AMSAT staff.

Because AMSAT has contracted ElectionBuddy for a fully managed election, they will be voters’ single point of contact regarding any ballot issues. The AMSAT Secretary or Office Manager may direct you to contact ElectionBuddy in situations deemed part of this fully managed election. Questions will not be answered on the AMSAT-BB or organizational Social Media accounts.

In the event that you are unwilling or unable to cast your ballot via the online mechanism, ElectionBuddy will mail you a specific ballot that must be returned to them within the parameters of our election timeframe so that it is received by the office no later than September 15, 2019. If you choose this option, please understand it is at an increased cost to the organization.

Sincerely,

Clayton L. Coleman, W5PFG
AMSAT Secretary

[ANS thanks W5PFG for the above information]

Candidates for the AMSAT Board of Directors Announced

The 2019 candidates for the AMSAT Board of Directors, in alphabetical order by last name are:

  • Jerry Buxton, N0JY
  • Howard (Howie) Defelice, AB2S
  • Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA
  • Jeff Johns, WE4B
  • Brennan Price, N4QX
  • Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK
  • Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
  • Michelle Thompson, W5NYV

This year AMSAT membership will select four candidates to the Board of Directors. The four candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be seated as voting members of the Board of Directors. Two alternate directors will be selected based on the next highest number of votes received.

Ballots will be mailed to the AMSAT membership by July 15, 2019.

The election closes September 15, 2019.

Sincerely,
Clayton L. Coleman, W5PFG
AMSAT Secretary

[ANS thanks Clayton L. Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT Secretary for the above information.]

Frank Karnauskas, N1UW Appointed as AMSAT VP for Development

Frank Karnauskas, N1UW

On June 18th, the AMSAT Board of Directors elected Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, Vice President – Development. This position carries the responsibility for fund raising, marketing and public relations for AMSAT programs. In addition to enhancing the AMSAT and ARISS brands within their traditional spheres, this position is expected to broaden the appeal of its activities to a wider market. This includes the educational, corporate and philanthropic sectors.

AMSAT President Joe Spier explains, “The cost of planning, building and launching satellites has risen exponentially over the past years. It is essential that we not only raise the Amateur Radio community’s financial participation in these programs, we need to enlist the support of outside entities. We can only do this by demonstrating the value that Amateur Radio satellites bring to society’s best interests. This is especially true for youth and educational programs where AMSAT’s and ARISS’s growth lies.”

Frank comes to this position with a forty-five year career as a sales and marketing executive in the consumer and industrial markets. He was first licensed in 1963 and has been a long-term member of AMSAT and the ARRL. Frank also contributes to AMSAT as an AMSAT News Service Rotating Editor.

[ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors for the above information]

2019 marks AMSAT’s 50th Anniversary of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. 
To help celebrate, we are sponsoring the AMSAT 50th Anniversary Awards Program. 
Full details are available at: https://www.amsat.org/amsat-50th-anniversary-awards-program/

First Ever Contact via Moon Orbiting Transponder LO-94

Click or tap for details of the lunar orbiting relay via LO-94 QSO

Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ, reported on the details of the first contact via a lunar orbiting repeater that was accomplished via China’s DSLWP-B (LO-94)  satellite.

EA4GPZ wrote, “In parallel [with the solar eclipse testing], the GMSK to JT4G repeater onboard DSLWP-B was used to make a QSO between BY2HIT, the Harbin Institute of Technology Amateur radio club, and Reinhard Kuehn DK5LA. This is the first ever Amateur radio QSO made through a lunar orbiting repeater. It was reported by Wei Mingchuan, BG2BHC.”

Continuing, “Using the GMSK to JT4G repeater is not easy, in terms of the signal power needed for the uplink. There were plans to make a QSO  between BY2HIT and Reinhard since many months ago, but previous attempts didn’t work out. My congratulations to the people at both sides of the QSO, who have achieved it a month before DSLWP-B crashes against the lunar surface.

“The GMSK to JT4G repeater works by sending commands to the satellite which embed a 13 character message, using the same frequency and a  similar protocol to the one used to command the camera and other satellite functions. The precise definition of this mode is a 7.8125 baud FSK modulation with a shift of 394.53125Hz. Each FSK tone is “spread”

with a 250 baud GMSK 32 bit syncword. The CCSDS 32 bit syncword is used to mark the beginning of a packet, and a Reed-Solomon (64,32) code is used for FEC, together with CCSDS scrambling. Such a message takes a bit longer than one minute to transmit. The uplink is in the 2m Amateur satellite band.

“The repeater downlink is the usual JT4G downlink of DSLWP-B in the 70cm Amateur satellite band. The 13 character messages sent in the uplink command replace the usual JT4G telemetry, being repeated as a free-form JT4G message. In the case of this QSO, the B1 radio at 436.400MHz was used. This radio was also used to transmit the images using GMSK SSDV.”

Access EA4GPZ’s full report at: https://destevez.net/2019/07/analysis-of-dslwp-b-eclipse-test-run-again/

[ANS thanks Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ for the above information]

First Call for Papers for the 50th Anniversary AMSAT Symposium

This is the first call for papers for the 2019 AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting and Space Symposium to be held on the weekend of October 18 – 20 at The Hilton Arlington, 950 North Stafford Street, Arlington, Virginia. Proposals for papers, symposium presentations, and poster 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 to be submitted by September 23rd for inclusion in the printed proceedings.

Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz at n8fgv(at)amsat.org

For the latest news visit the 2019 AMSAT Symposium and 50th Anniversary celebration web page!

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

Take W3ZM on the Road!

Click or tap for the latest news

Leading up to the 2019 AMSAT 50th Anniversary Space Symposium and General Meeting, to be held in Arlington, VA, October 18 – 20, 2019, AMSAT’s call sign, W3ZM, will operate from all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.  Not only is this your chance to get Worked All States-Satellites under the W3ZM call sign, but, also, your chance to be a part of this historic effort.

Note:  When operating outside of the “3” call area, operators will append the W3ZM call sign with “/(call area).” As an example, someone operating from Texas will use W3ZM/5; from Hawaii, W3ZM/KH6; from Alaska, W3ZM/KL7; and from Puerto Rico, W3ZM/WP4.

To make this happen – We need your help! Please volunteer to get on the air and activate your State, using AMSAT’s W3ZM call sign, as well as to cover those States without an active AMSAT Member. Activations of other United States Territories (i.e. Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands) are also welcome.

To volunteer and operate using AMSAT’s W3ZM call sign, you must:

  • Be a current member of AMSAT
  • Obtain permission by emailing AMSAT VP of User Services, specifying the requested date(s) and location(s)
  • Submit an ADIF log of contacts made for upload to LoTW by AMSAT, as instructed in your notice of approval to use the W3ZM call sign

[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP of User Services for the above information]

ARISS-International Delegates Meet in Montreal

Nine nations were represented as Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) held its 2019 “face-to-face” meeting of international delegates at the Canadian Space Agency in Montreal, June 26–28.

ARISS-Canada was the host for the gathering. A high point of the conference came when Kenwood software manager Shin Aota, JL1IBD, presented two Kenwood TM-D710GA transceivers to ARISS-Russia delegate Sergey Samburov, RV3DR. One of the TM-D710GA radios will replace aging  Amateur Radio equipment currently in use on the International Space Station, while the other will remain on Earth as a spare for training  cosmonauts. For more than a year, these radios have undergone detailed NASA qualification testing followed by final software configuration and verification.

“With today’s transfer of the radios to ARISS-Russia, we are one step closer to an enhanced Amateur Radio system on board the ISS, supporting various operations such as SSTV, voice communication, APRS, and a variety of experiments,” ARISS-International said in announcing the presentation. The ARISS Hardware Team met on June 25.

Those on hand for the event included Radio Amateurs of Canada President (RAC) and ARISS-Canada Delegate for RAC Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA;  AMSAT-NA President Joe Spier, K6WAO, and AMSAT-Italia President Emanuele D’Andria, I0ELE. ARRL Southeastern Division Director Greg  Sarratt, W4OZK, attended in his role as chair of the ARRL Board’s new ARISS Committee. Rosalie White, K1STO, represented ARRL as an ARISS-US  delegate and handled the duties of ARISS-International Secretary. The other ARISS-US delegate was Dave Taylor, W8AAS.

The French government’s proposal to consider 144–146 MHz for possible allocation to the Aeronautical Mobile Service drew some discussion. Other topics included ARISS’ future participation in NASA’s Deep Space Gateway (DSG) program. ARISS is the only noncommercial entity whose ideas are under study by the program. The ARISS plan focuses on Amateur Radio communication, including optical communication channels, as well as equipment development, team cooperation, education, and public outreach.

Canadian Space Agency Program Manager of the Lunar Gateway Program Ken Podwalski noted that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will go to the moon. CSA provided the “Canadarm” robotic arm for the space shuttle and contributed the Mobile Servicing System, a sophisticated robotics suite that plays a critical role in ISS operations.

White and Taylor presented the ARISS-US Region Report, highlighting many of the accomplishments of the US team since the last ARISS face-to-face meeting.

Dave Honess of the European Space Agency presented some ideas for enhanced ARISS educational outreach. A future SSTV session to honor Owen  Garriott, W5LFL (SK), also came in for some discussion. Garriott was the first space traveler to use Amateur Radio from space. — Thanks to Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS Public Relations, and Rosalie White, K1STO

[ANS thanks ARRL for the above information]

JAISAT-1 telemetry beacon downlink on 435.325 MHz FM 4k8 GMSK

JAISAT-1 was launched on July 5, 2019 along with a total of 34 satellites from 12 countries.  The JAISAT-1 telemetry beacon is at 435.325 MHz. The telemetry signal format is 4k8 GMSK Mobitex (same dstar one Sparro and iSAT CMX990 Mobitex Format) in accordance with the details from the IARU satellite co-ordinator site: http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=521

This is keplerian element from simulate orbit the following as below:

JAISAT-SIM
1 77777U 19001a   19186.41724769  .00000000  00000-0  00000-0 0 00015
2 77777 098.5564 148.1307 0015651 161.6334 118.6706 15.15099188000017

All amateur radio operators capable of receiving signals from the JAISAT-1 satellite are invited to send the data by email to: [email protected]

The Radio Amateur Society of Thailand will have a SWL card to confirm reception.

[ANS thanks Tanan Rangseeprom, HS1JAN, Project Manager of JAISAT-1, for the above information]

Additional Amateur Radio Payloads to Launch with JAISAT-1

When JAISAT-1 launches in July from the Vostochny Cosmodrome it will fly with additional amateur radio payloads, summarized below.

Berlin Technical University (Germany) Beesat-9
Coordination details at: http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=657

A 1U Cubesat, BEESAT-9 is an educational, experimental satellite. The main objective is to verify 3- axes stabilization using a GPS receiver, reaction wheels and magnetorquers. A camera will take pictures of Earth to verify the attitude of the satellite. A new attitude control actuator, developed in a PhD thesis, will be first flown on BEESAT-9. The operations of the spacecraft will be conducted in lecture courses under the guidance of licensed radio amateurs.

The satellite will have a digipeater function to mirror a signal to another satellite or ground station. Furthermore, it will provide a beacon signal for radio amateurs, including telemetry. The amateur radio community is highly encouraged to collect telemetry data packets, plans for special operations e.g. experiments shall be announced to the amateur radio community on the Internet. It is also planned to include the amateur radio community to receive parts of pictures, which will then be put together by TU Berlin and published on the Website and on social networks. proposing to use a UHF downlink with 4k8 or 9k6 Mobilex GMSK modulation. A downlink on 435,950 MHz has been coordinated by the IARU.

BEESAT-9 Will fly with BEESAT10-13 and MOVE-2B. More info from:  https://tinyurl.com/ANS-188-BEESAT-9

Munich Technical University (Germany) will demonstrate their innovative cubesat bus by launching MOVE-IIb. Coordination details at:  http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=645  A 1U CubeSat. Proposing a VHF QPSK 12k5 Bit/s downlink for telemetry  and mission data with a UHF uplink capability for a cross band repeatA downlink on 145,840 MHz has been coordinated. No additional amateur radio repeater operation is available at press time. The IARU release suggests to monitor for updated information on the mission website at: https://www.move2space.de/

Tallinn Technical University (Estonia) – an educational satellite TTU101 developed to test Earth observation cameras and a novel high speed X-band communication system. Coordination details at: http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=660  The mission of TTU satellite is to perform remote sensing in visible and IR electromagnetic spectrum from 500-600 km polar orbit with 1U cubesat for educational and technology demonstration purposes. Another mission task is to test amateur 10.450 – 10.500 GHz band frequencies for high-speed data downlink operations. Proposing a 435 MHz downlink with data rates up to 9k6 GFSK/GMSK and also OQPSK downlink on 10.45 GHZ at data rates up to 20Mbs. Downlinks on 10460.000 MHz and 435.450 MHz with a beacon on 435.500 MHz have been coordinated. More info at:  https://www.ttu.ee/projects/mektory-eng/satellite-programme-3/

Royal Institute of Technology KTH (Sweden) –  SEAM-2.0 scientific spacecraft for measuring the magnetic field of the Earth.  http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=584  A 3U CubeSat intended to test a deployable boom carrying miniature  sensors for measuring magnetic fields. A commercial S Band transceiver will operate in addition to a UHF transceiver using 9k6 GMSK. A downlink on 437.250MHz has been coordinated.

University of Wuerzburg (Germany) – SONATE, a cubesat for technology demonstration, and orbital verification of various satellite components and autonomous payloads. Coordination details at: http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=572  The educational objective of this mission includes opportunities students to build and operate radio communication systems of space and ground segment systems. Such a system is the amateur payload of this satellite, a transceiver which is currently built by several students over the course of their theses. This transceiver will initially provide regularly SSTV downlinks with images from one of the on-board cameras. Other thesis for instance address the antenna deploy mechanism. The following downlink frequencies have been coordinated: 9k6 GMSK/GSFK AX25 telemetry 437.025 MHz and for SSTV 145.840 MHz

SkyFox Labs (Czech Republic) – Lucky-7 cubesat will demonstrate innovative solutions for 1U cubesat platform. Coordination details at:  http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=452  In addition to radio frequency operation the satellite includes high power LEDs transmitting in visible spectra (blue) to demonstrate EPS high power handling capability. Also included is a Digital Color camera module which will be used aboard the satellite to capture the images of Earth to confirm ADCS stabilization functionality and “high” data transfer throughput capability of the custom-built FSK onboard radio. A downlink on 437.525 MHz has been coordinated for a FSK downlink at variable bit rates up to 9k6. Data format information will be made available at http://www.lucky7satellite.org  Additional launch information can be found at:  https://tinyurl.com/y39pxhel

[ANS thanks the IARU and parabolicarc.com for the above information]

VUCC Awards-Endorsements for July

Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period June 1, 2019 through July 1, 2019. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month!

VUCC Standings June-July 2019

CallsignJune 1July 1
K5OE10081079
K6FW794801 correction
WD9EWK550567
N3GS454525
NS3L457475
K9UO351400
W5TDNew381
MI6GTY281354
KE8AKW258329
W7JSD279309
G0ABI305306
AD0HJ250282
KC9ELU229233
AJ4A225230
AB1OC177184
N7EGY100169
PU8RFL157166
PS8MT156165
AA8CH/N8RNew113
KC9VGGNew102
N6REKNew100
WD9EWK-DM45New100

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

Upcoming Satellite Operations

Hawaii (BL20) – July 5-8, 2019 
Mark, N8MH will be operating as N8MH/KH6 and as W3ZM/KH6 July 5-8 from BL20, FM and linears. Possibility of other grids once there. Watch the Twitter feed for further announcements: https://twitter.com/N8MH

Wabakimi Provincial Park, Ontario (EO50) – July 4-10, 2019
Fred, VE3FAL, is heading off to Wabakimi Provincial Park July 4th-10th and will activate EO50 via FM satellites. Keep an eye on Fred’s Twitter feed for further updates: https://twitter.com/Fred_VE3FAL

UP and Ontario (EN85, EN86, EN87) July 6-13, 2019 
Chris, AA8CH, is heading back up north MI July 6th. Staying in EN85, will also hit EN86 if any requests. July 13 going to stay in EN76/VE3, with activation of EN86/EN87 planned. DM or email Chris, if you need one of ’em. Keep an eye on Chris’ Twitter feed for further updates:  https://twitter.com/charliehotel10

Montana (EN55) July 8-10, 2019
Dennis, N7EGY, will be in DN55 starting the evening of July 8th thru ~1800z July 10th. First priority is moving his daughter & family into their new home, but he’ll sneak away to play on the birds as able. Keep an eye on Dennis’ Twitter feed for specific pass announcements:  https://twitter.com/n7egy1

Iceland (HP93, HP94, HP95, IP03, IP05, IP13, IP14, IP15, IP24, IP25, IP35) – July 13-19, 2019
Adam, K0FFY, is taking his family (and his radios) to Iceland. He’ll be staying in HP95 on July 13, IP15 on July 14-15, IP25 on July 16, IP03 on July 17-18, and HP94 on July 19. In total, he’ll be passing through HP93, HP94, HP95, IP03, IP05, IP13, IP14, IP15, IP24, IP25, & IP35. There’s a lot to see, so passes will be best effort & announced on Twitter shortly prior:  https://twitter.com/K0FFY_Radio

For more information on the latest satellite roves and special events: https://www.amsat.org/satellite-info/upcoming-satellite-operations/

[ANS thanks KE4AL for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over

  • On July 1, 1976, the main exhibition hall of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC opened. AMSAT was on site with a portable satellite station on the steps of the museum and President Ford’s dedication speech was transmitted through AO-7. Photos of this event were posted by AMSAT at https://twitter.com/AMSAT/status/1145679438744608769
  • The submission deadline for AMSAT Field Day scores is July 8th. See https://www.amsat.org/field-day/ for details.
  • Several AMSAT members will be operating on satellites during the 13 Colonies Special Event this weekend:

N2OA will be operating as K2A from FN03
KG4AKV will operate as K2J from North Carolina
N3CAL will represent Maryland from FM18 as K2F
For more information see: http://www.13colonies.net/   (ANS thanks N2OA, KG4AKV, and N3CAL for the above information)

  • An ARRL video introducing amateur radio to the public includes AMSAT Members N8HM, KM4LAO, and NP4JV:
    https://www.facebook.com/ARRL.org/videos/576779882849805/  (ANS thanks ARRL for the above information)
  • Lunar-OSCAR 94 successfully imaged the solar eclipse from lunar orbit on July 2. The images were downloaded by BY2HIT and PI9CAM.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-ifQaaXsAAGBwd.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-iDwjdUcAA8ehc.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-iNUXCX4AEzjmQ.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D-iGqg9W4AAT3ue.jpg 
(ANS thanks Nico Janssen, PA0DLO for the above information.)

  • A nicely detailed description of equipment needed for access to the geosynchronous QO-100 by Tobias Mädel, DL4TMA was recently posted at: https://tbspace.de/qo100eshail2.html   (ANS thanks Tobias Mädel, DL4TMA, for the above information)
  • NASA will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 Moon mission and look to the future of exploration on the Moon and Mars with a live, two-hour television broadcast Friday, July 19, and partner-led events taking place across the country from July 16 through July 20. For details, see: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/apollo50th/index.html  (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)
  • The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 spacecraft sprang loose from its Prox-1 carrier vehicle as planned on July 2, and sent its first signals back to mission control at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California. The satellite, with callsign WM9XPA, sends AX.25 FSK telemetry at 9600 bps on 437.025 MHz. Full news release at: https://tinyurl.com/y6dtauv2  (ANS thanks The Planetary Society for the above information)
  • A reminder that AO-85 is in a low battery voltage condition. Please do not use the satellite while it is in eclipse, even if you hear it.   Please send reports to the AMSAT-BB. They are welcome and helpful.   (ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA 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 office.

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 six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information.

73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,

This week’s ANS Editor,
K0JM at amsat dot org

2019 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Update

The 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors election will be conducted differently than in past elections. In previous years, the balloting process was handled by multiple vendors. This year, AMSAT has contracted with a single, independent party, ElectionBuddy, to conduct and fully manage the election process.

A ballot card will be mailed to all current members in accordance with the organization’s by-laws by or on July 15, 2019. You may cast your ballot by visiting a unique URL or utilizing the QR code printed on the card.  If you do not receive your ballot, you will need to contact ElectionBuddy.  ElectionBuddy will be responsible for distributing ballots, collecting ballots, and tallying votes.

Individual candidates’ statement of qualification (biographies) will be published on AMSAT’s website and will be displayed on the ElectionBuddy  website available to eligible voters.

AMSAT believes this voting system will result in greater election integrity as it removes the potential for any perceived conflicts of interest.  ElectionBuddy will manage AMSAT’s voter list and interaction with members regarding the election. This ensures voter anonymity. Individual ballot responses will never be shared with any volunteer or paid AMSAT staff.

Because AMSAT has contracted ElectionBuddy for a fully managed election, they will be voters’ single point of contact regarding any ballot issues. The AMSAT Secretary or Office Manager may direct you to contact ElectionBuddy in situations deemed part of this fully managed election. Questions will not be answered on the AMSAT-BB or organizational Social Media accounts.

In the event that you are unwilling or unable to cast your ballot via the online mechanism, ElectionBuddy will mail you a specific ballot that must be returned to them within the parameters of our election timeframe so that it is received by the office no later than September 15, 2019. If you choose this option, please understand it is at an increased cost to the organization.

Sincerely,

Clayton L. Coleman, W5PFG
AMSAT Secretary