ANS-015 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

January 15, 2023 by Mark Johns

In this edition:

* FalconSat-3 Nears Re-entry
* More Amateur Radio Astronauts Head for the ISS
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* Why We Don’t Call CQ on FM Birds
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

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

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

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

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

ANS-015 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2023 Jan 15

FalconSat-3 Nears Re-entry

A number of amateurs and satellite watchers have put forward predictions concerning the date and time of re-entry for FalconSat-3. While all re-entry predictions are something of a guessing game, due to the large number of variables affecting the upper atmosphere, one thing that can be said for certain is that the end for FS-3 will be coming very soon, quite possibly within the next week.

AMSAT Board Member and FS-3 control operator, Mark Hammond, N8MH, has stated that he will try to have the bird operational for its final hours. The satellite has only been available for approximately 24 hours each weekend due to weak batteries.

FalconSAT-3 was built in 2005 and 2006 by cadets and faculty in the Space Systems Research Center at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. It is the fourth in a series of small satellites designed, built and operated there as part of a capstone course and which brings together about 30 cadets each year from several different academic departments.

Since its launch on an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral in March, 2007, it has been through three mission phases. The first mission phase was operation of the science payloads. In the second it was used as a tool for training cadets in the space operations squadron and students in both undergraduate space training in California and graduate students at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Finally, it’s third mission phase was as an on-orbit resource in the Amateur Radio Service (ARS). Operation as an ARS satellite was being managed by AMSAT-NA.

In amateur service the downlink is at 435.103 MHz transmitting 1W into a ¼ whip. The uplink is at 145.840 MHz and the receive antenna is a ¼ whip on the opposite side of the satellite. All UHF and S-band equipment on NTIA licensed frequencies has been disabled. The ARS VHF receiver is very sensitive. Modulation is 9600 bps GMSK for the uplink and downlink. The broadcast callsign is PFS3-11, and the BBS callsign is PFS3-12, Unproto APRS via PFS3-1.

The core avionics were designed and built by Mark Kanawati, N4TPY, and Dino Lorenzini, KC4YMG at SpaceQuest Ltd. and have performed remarkably well for nearly 16 years on orbit. Jim White, WD0E, was the lead engineer for FalconSAT-3 at the Air Force Academy (USAFA) and managed the design, construction, testing and early operations of the satellite.

Nearly 700 cadets at USAFA obtained their amateur radio licenses as part of training to operate FalconSAT-3 and other USAFA satellites. They have taken that knowledge and understanding of the value of the ARS into their Air Force service and many on into industry. Since FalconSAT-3 the USAFA Astronautics Department has built and operated one additional satellite and has two more queued for launch. The space operations curriculum and the ground station are being rebuilt and configured for these new space assets.

The success of FalconSAT-3 is an excellent example of how amateur radio can be integrated into the curriculum of an education institution for the benefit of the students and the amateur radio service.

[ANS thanks Sasha Timokhov, VE3SVF, Jean Marc Momple, 3B8DU, and Mark Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Operations, for the above information]

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The 2023 AMSAT President’s Club coins are here now!
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of its launch
on June 16, 1983, this year’s coin features
an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 10.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
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More Amateur Radio Astronauts Head for the ISS

Three of the four new astronauts on February’s planned launch of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) are amateur radio operators.

Pilot Warren “Woody” Hoburg, KB3HTZ; Commander Stephen Bowen, KI5BKB, and Mission Specialist Sultan Al Neyadi, KI5VTV, will join Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev on board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, Endeavour.

The spacecraft will be atop a Falcon 9 rocket and, while a launch date has not been selected, the earliest date would be mid-February 2023.

All crew members have learned about Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), received guidance on studying and testing, and learned how to operate the ARISS radios and the basics of on-the-air protocol from ARISS team members at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

The crew will be able to participate in ARISS, using the ham radio station on the ISS to contact schools and other educational institutions.

ARISS is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the ISS. In the US, participating organizations include NASA, the ISS National Lab, ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio, and AMSAT.

[ANS thanks ARRL 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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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution

Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin files are updated Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/

No changes this week.

[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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Why We Don’t Call CQ on FM Birds

Please do not CQ on FM birds. It is not necessary and takes up valuable air time. If there are no QSOs ongoing, AND there is no station you heard that you want to call, you can key up and give your call and grid ONLY and unkey. But, please, do this sparingly! Instead of doing it over and over, listen and wait for another station you might want to work. In other words, you have to give others a chance to get in there. I have heard many passes where it was constantly one station after another CQing or announcing their call and I couldn’t get it to call anyone! And if there is a rover on the pass giving out a rare grid, it is customary to let them have the air and work as many stations as they can until they have worked them all who are seeking them. (Which will changes as the sat passes over new territory and new callers wanting to work the rover come into range.) It may mean you get only one QSO that pass (or none of you don’t need the grid he is in) but it’s about sharing a resource wisely and giving everyone the most benefit. A pass full of CQs or a pass of contacts where everybody makes one QSO with a rare grid.

If you add up all the seconds spent by people CQing, or continually announcing themselves you’ll see what a significant percentage of a pass is wasted. They say, ‘Well no one else was on.’ Right… because they couldn’t get through due to all the CQing! Satellites is like HF DXing… listen, listen and when in doubt, listen.

Then there is the simple fact that CQing has NEVER been a thing on the FM mode… not on repeaters, not on simplex. The longstanding custom on FM, because of the nature of the way the audio works, is to simply announce your call. Such as, ‘N4UFO listening 52″ on 146.520 simplex, or ‘N4UFO monitoring’ over a 2m FM repeater… the ‘CQ’ part is implied. That said, why is CQing on SSB not only okay, but necessary? FM birds are one channel and you can hear everyone plain as day right there. With linear birds, there is a passband and stations are spread out… CQing is for catching everyone else’s attention as they tune around. They will hear either your high pitched squeaky voice or low rumbling voice speaking in the familiar rhythm of ‘CQ, CQ, CQ’ as they tune around. In short, they use your ‘CQ’ as a way to tune around and FIND you, then TUNE you in. This is not necessary on FM. And also not necessary to CQ on SSB once the station starts making contacts.

There is also a tendency on linear birds when a rare grid station is expected to be on a pass to start blind calling. Please do not do that either! I have a short writeup on my rover page to explain it… it’s on the bottom of the page here: https://www.qrz.com/db/N4UFO/P (also pics & stories of my roving adventures & my gear)

And THANK YOU for ASKING!!!

[ANS thanks Kevin Manzer, N4UFO, 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.

Escola Secundária de Lagoa, Lagoa, Azores, telebridge via IK1SLD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS, and the scheduled crewmember is Josh Cassada, KI5CRH. Contact is go for: Thu 2023-01-19 18:20:34 UTC 55 degrees maximum elevation. Watch for Livestream starting about 15 minutes before AOS at http://www.ariotti.com/

Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS, and the scheduled crewmember is TBD. Contact is go for 2023-01-24 TBD.

Krasnodar, Russia, direct via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS, and the scheduled crewmember is TBD. Contact is go for 2023-02-TBD TBD.

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

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

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

Upcoming Satellite Operations

W8LR: is heading to EN90 and EM99 1/15/23 FM and Linear.

Chris VE3FU / VO2AC / VO1FUA / VE2FUA: The weekend of January 27-29 @Dave_VE3KG and I will be competing in the CQ160 CW Contest as VO2AC from the Point Amour Lighthouse in Labrador (Zone 2). We’ll also be on the other HF bands starting January 24 as VO2AC and VO2AAA. Please work us in the contest! We also plan on operating the linear and FM satellites from grid GO11 as VO2AC and VO2AAA from January 24-27.

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.

AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford K6LCS has a few satellite presentations scheduled …
-Ontario, Canada (1/16/23)
-Thames Valley, England (5/11/23)

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 included are overviews of the ARRL, AMSAT, and ARISS. And pre-presentation questions are welcome.

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

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Paul Overn, KE0PBR, has announced his intent to “retire” from the Gridmaster Heat Map project that he has moderated on Twitter for the past three years. Paul has assisted many grid chasers by relaying information about rovers, and keeping tabs of which grids are in greatest need. Unless someone steps forward to pick it up, Gridmaster Heat Map will disappear next month. Thanks to Paul for your valuable contribution to satellite operations! (ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, for the above information)

+ Two astronauts on the International Space Station will conduct a spacewalk Friday, Jan. 20, to install hardware for future power system upgrades. NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA, will exit the station’s Quest airlock to complete the installation of two mounting platforms as part of planned solar array augmentation on the starboard side of the International Space Station’s truss. NASA will provide live coverage beginning at 7 a.m. EST. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at 8:15 a.m., and last about six and a half hours. [NOTE: All ARISS operations are shut down during spacewalks.] (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)

+ There was an error in the January VUCC standings reported in last week’s ANS bulletins. The entry for K7ZOO, at the top of the table, is not valid and should not have been included. ANS apologizes for the error.

+ The National Science Foundation (NSF) has reached an agreement with SpaceX to mitigate the effects of the company’s second-generation Starlink satellites on astronomy, even as another organization goes to court to block the constellation’s deployment. NSF, which funds operations of several major observatories, announced Jan. 10 that is had completed an astronomy coordination agreement with SpaceX regarding its Gen2 Starlink constellation. The Federal Communications Commission granted a license Dec. 2 to allow SpaceX to deploy a quarter of that 30,000-satellite system while deferring consideration of the rest of the constellation. That coordination agreement was a condition of the Gen2 FCC license. (ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information)

+ A vintage NASA satellite launched in the 1980s and long-since turned to space junk met a fiery fate late Sunday as it fell back to Earth. The huge Earth observation satellite, called the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), plunged back to Earth Sunday night (Jan. 8) at 11:04 p.m. EST (0304 GMT on Monday). The 5,400-pound (2,450 kilograms) satellite reentered over the Bering Sea, with some components potentially surviving the super-hot temperatures of reentry. (ANS thanks Space.com for the above information)

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

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

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

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

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

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

ANS-008 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Jan. 8

January 23, 2023January 8, 2023 by Paul Stoetzer

In this edition:

* Story of SuryaSat-1 (SS-1) Nano Satellite
* VUCC Satellite Standings as of January 1, 2023
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

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

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

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

ANS-002 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2023 Jan 08

Story of SuryaSat-1 (SS-1) Nano Satellite

This afternoon 6 January 2023, at 07:50 UTC, there will be the culmination of the long journey of Surya Satellite (SS-1) Nano Satellite project that started in 2016 after a presentation of amateur radio activities by ORARI (the Indonesian Radio Amateurs Organization) to students of University of Surya.

In early 2015 ORARI made a presentation to University of Surya Robotic Club, and one of the amateur radio activities that got their interest was high-altitude ballooning due to the telemetry aspect, such as sending temperature, altitude, voltage, as it relates to their robotic interest. I showed them a couple pictures of my past activity in ARHAB as the faculty advisor of amateur radio society at Texas Tech University in early 2000. This started the high-altitude balloon planning, including designing the balloon payload (APRS utilizing OpenTracker mini board).

Late 2015, with the successful launch and activation of LAPAN-A2/ORARI (which becomes IO-86) satellite, the students grew interest of building a satellite as it is only a couple of kilometers higher they said. So in 2016 the ORARI team visit them and shared the experience in designing a satellite, as I myself was part of the ORARI team that involved in the design of the amateur payload in the LAPAN-A2/ORARI. As this would be their first effort in building a satellite from scratch, they said we will start with APRS then next satellite would be a voice repeater satellite. They submitted the design in a competition by UNOOSA and won.

The student got more excited after seeing the POC (proof of concept) worked and they continue with building the prototype, conducted various tests with LAPAN (the aeronautical and space organization) and complying with the necessary paperwork/approvals. But the road wasn’t easy as they got funding problem (at one time they were selling T-Shirt to raise funding), change in faculty advisor and university leadership and their own graduation and transition into the professional world (some of them got employed in commercial satellite companies). Finally they got back in the last 2 years to finalize the payload, had the payload verification with ORARI team and shipped the payload to Japan (JAXA), integrated with other payload and shipped to the US, then lifted up on Space-X CRS-26 rocket to ISS last November and now today is the deployment date from the Kibo Module of ISS.

Apologize for the long posting but I got really excited today as the deployment of SS-1 Nano Satellite is coming up shortly.

Update: SS-1 has been deployed at 08:03 UTC on 6 January 2023 please monitor APRS beacon at 145.825 MHz

[ANS thanks Yono Adisoemarta, YD0NXX / N5SNN, ORARI HQ, Head of Satellite Division, for the above information]

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VUCC Satellite Standings as of January 1, 2023

VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for December 01, 2022 to January 01, 2023.

Callsign	22-Dec	23-Jan

K9UO	718	750
W8LR	643	667
KN2K	600	654
AF5CC	628	644
EA2AA	626	643
AJ4A	230	614
FG8OJ	373	513
VE4MM	476	508
W2GDJ	New	465
HB9GWJ	206	363
N5EKO	344	349
JK2XXK	233	310
K8BL	292	297
WB9YIG	175	251
DL6KBG	175	250
IK6GZM	New	234
LU4FTA	137	223
OZ9AAR	100	207
JA1GZK	New	150
7L1ETP	New	133
W6AER	100	126
DU9JJY	New	116
VE1CWJ/VP9	New	110
WD9EWK(DM13)	New	109
WY7FD	New	102
JS2GGD	New	101
W3TI	New	101

Congratulations to the new VUCC holders.

WY7FD is first VUCC Satellite holder from DN74
VE1CWJ/VP9 is first VUCC Satellite holder from Bermuda and FM72
DU9JJY is first VUCC Satellite holder from Philippines and PJ27
IK6GZM is first VUCC Satellite holder from JN62
7L1ETP is first VUCC Satellite holder from PM95

HAPPY NEW YEAR

May you all be blessed with new grid squares in 2023.

[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ, for the above information]

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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 5, 2023

At the request of CAMSAT and the XW-4 (CAS-10) team, AMSAT has designated the satellite as Hope-OSCAR 119 (HO-119) as of January 1, 2023. For details, see Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA and OSCAR Number Administrator’s announcement entitled “OSCAR number assigned for CAS-10” in AMSAT News Service Bulletin ANS-001 (dated January 1, 2023).

Therefore, the following satellite has been renamed in this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution as follows:

HO-119 NORAD Cat ID 54816. (Formally CAS-10).

The following satellite has decayed from orbit and has been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE distribution as follows:

TW-1A NORAD Cat ID 40928. (decayed from orbit on 12/29/22 per Space-Track).

Finally, AMSAT is pleased to announce the new daily two line element bulletin available at https://www.amsat.org/tle/current/daily-bulletin.txt. Members of the Sci-Tech Radio Society (STARS) have worked with AMSAT Information Technology to automate this process. Seventeen year old STARS member Ryan “RJ” Fitzgerald, N1BGA, enjoyed exercising skills he learned in his high school computer science class. “It was cool to do something for the real world beyond just homework assignments, plus it forced me to learn stuff not covered in class” said Fitzgerald.

STARS is part of New England Sci-Tech – a non-profit STEM education center and makerspace dedicated to project-based, hands-on learning for youth and families across the New England community with a strong Amateur Radio focus. Visit www.nescitech.org for details. Thanks to Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, for this update on this new innovative approach to AMSAT TLE distribution.

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

ARISS News

No upcoming contacts currently scheduled

Special thanks to our ARISS telebridge ground stations. Approximately 38% of the ARISS school contacts are handled by the ARISS telebridge stations. Thanks to following stations: AB1OC, IK1SLD, K6DUE, NA7V, ON4ISS, VK4ISS, VK4KHZ, VK5ZAI, VK6MJ, and ZS6JON.

The crossband repeater continues to be active. If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know.

Comments on making general contacts

I have been seeing a lot of traffic on Facebook and I suspect on other social media sites with people asking why they are not hearing the crew make general contacts. First off the crew is very busy on the ISS and they simply may not have the time to just pick up the microphone and talk. Also, one needs to be aware of their normal daily schedule. I have listed below the constraints that we at ARISS have to follow in order to schedule the school contacts. Hopefully this will help you better schedule your opportunities.

Typical daily schedule

Wakeup to Workday start= 1.5 hours
Workday start to Workday end=12 hours
Workday end to Sleep= 2 hours
Sleep to wakeup= 8.5 hours

The crew’s usual waking period is 0730 – 1930 UTC. The most common times to find a crew member making casual periods are about one hour after waking and before sleeping, when they have personal time. They’re usually free most of the weekend, as well.

SSTV events are not that often. So please check out https://www.ariss.org/ for the latest information or watch for the ARISS announcements.

And don’t forget that the packet system is active.

As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol.

ARISS Radio Status

Columbus Module radios:
IORS (Kenwood D710GA) – STATUS – Configured. Default mode is for cross band repeater (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down).
* Powering off for US EVA on January 20. OFF Jan 19 about 17:00 UTC. ON Jan 21 about 12:30 UTC.
*Capable of supporting USOS scheduled voice contacts, packet and voice repeater ops.

Service Module radios:
IORS (Kenwood D710GA) – STATUS – Configured. Default mode is fo packet operations (145.825 MHz up & down)
*Powering off for US EVA on January 20. OFF Jan 19 about 17:00 UTC. ON Jan 21 about 12:30 UTC.
*Capable of supporting ROS scheduled voice contacts, packet, SSTV and voice repeater ops.

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

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

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

Upcoming Satellite Operations

[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.

AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford K6LCS has a few satellite presentations scheduled:

-Greenville, North Carolina (1/10/23)
-Ontario, Canada (1/16/23)
-Thames Valley, England (5/11/23)

AMSAT will also have a presence at HamCation 2023 in Orlando on February 10-12, 2023. Details on HamCation can be found at https://www.hamcation.com/

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

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ SpaceFlight Now is reporting the successful launch on Jan. 3 of the SpaceX Transporter 6 at https://spaceflightnow.com/2023/01/03/falcon-9-transporter-6-live-coverage/. This launch carried 114 satellites to orbit. The article says “The Transporter 6 launch also placed into orbit… an amateur radio CubeSat from the Czech Republic.” I assume that is a reference to BDSAT-2, which is supposed to carry a AX.25 GFSK G3RUH 9600 baud digipeater with downlink at 436.025, according to http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=866 This is confirmed by https://www.bdsat.cz/ That website shows “VHF Downlink frequency: 145.850 MHz,” but the IARU says the VHF frequency is an uplink. (Thanks to Mark Johns, K0JM, SpaceFlight Now, and the IARU)

+ The TJREVERB are seeking a couple of stations skilled in communicating with satellites using APRS. The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology’s TJREVERB satellite was deployed from the ISS on Dec 29th, and the team is still trying to successfully make contact with it. Please contact Curt Laumann, K7ZOO, if you’re interested in assisting. His email address can be found on QRZ.com

+ Congratulations to Hector Martinez, W5CBF, who finished his Satellite Worked All Zones (WAZ) award through QSOs using IO-117’s MEO digipeater. Only about 16 CQ zones are workable on LEO satellites from his QTH in Louisiana, so the MEO digipeater was able to fill in the rest. His award is the 42nd Satellite WAZ issued. Satellite WAZ requires confirmed QSOs with 25 of 40 CQ zones and is sponsored by CQ Magazine. Confirmations through LoTW are accepted.

+ Want to try something different? FO-118 carries a linear transponder with a 70cm downlink and a 15 meter uplink. The 15 meter uplink is very sensitive. This week’s editor made a couple of QSOs using 5 watts from his FT-817ND to an AlexLoop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop and was able to access the transponder with strong signals through the pass.

+ UVSQ-SAT will mark 2 years in space on January 24, 2023. In celebration of this milestone, the FM transponder will be activated. The uplink is 145.905 MHz and the downlink is 437.020 MHz. No PL tone is required. (Thanks to the UVSQ-SAT team)

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

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

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

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

This week’s ANS Editor,

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm [at] amsat.org

ANS-001 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

January 1, 2023January 1, 2023 by Mark Johns

In this edition:

* W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day to be Held January 1st
* HAARP was used to ping Asteroid 2010 XC15
* Space junk bill passes Senate unanimously
* TJREVERB was deployed from the ISS on December 29, 2022
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for Jan 1, 2023
* OSCAR number assigned for CAS-10
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

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

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

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ANS-001 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2023 Jan 01 – Wishing All a Happy and Prosperous New Year

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

In March 2022, the AMSAT community lost one of our pioneers when Ray Soifer, W2RS, became a silent key. In addition to his numerous contributions to AMSAT and the worldwide amateur satellite community, Ray was also the long time organizer of AMSAT’s CW Activity Day – previously AMSAT Straight Key Night – held in conjunction with the ARRL’s event on New Year’s Day. In recognition of Ray’s long time service to AMSAT and his keen interest in CW operating via satellite, AMSAT is pleased to announce that AMSAT’s CW Activity Day will now be known as the W2RS Memorial AMSAT CW Activity Day in Ray’s honor.

The rules are simple – operate CW through any amateur satellite between 0000 UTC and 2359 UTC on January 1, 2023. Straight keys and bugs are encouraged, but not required. Logs are not required, but operators are encouraged to submit a report of their activity to the AMSAT-BB. Photos and video clips of activity are also encouraged – post them on Twitter and tag @AMSAT.

Remember to use the minimum power required for communication as constant carrier modes, including CW, can disrupt transponder operation for other users.

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]

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Last Day for 2022 AMSAT President’s Club Membership

When They’re Gone…They’re Gone!
Join the 2022 AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/

(2022 membership closes 1/3/2022)
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HAARP was used to ping Asteroid 2010 XC15

Researchers at the HAARP array in Alaska attempted the lowest-frequency asteroid radar experiment ever. On Tuesday, Dec. 27th, they pinged a passing space rock with shortwave radio waves at 9.6 MHz. This could allow them to see *inside* the asteroid.

A number of amateur radio operators around the world were able to copy the signal. The signal appeared in a sequence of frequency sweep pings centered aroun the the 9.6MHz frequency in a “Ping” Wait 2 seconds. “Ping” Wait 2 seconds “Ping” pattern.

That’s what most ham radio operators heard last Tuesday when they received HAARP’s radar transmission to asteroid 2010 XC15. Scott Tilley of Roberts Creek, British Columbia, provided a recording of what he saw. It may be viewed at: https://bit.ly/3C2YshF along with a vidoe that includes sound.

The pulse was lopsided with a fast rise and a slow decay,” notes Tilley. “I believe this is due to multipath propagation from HAARP in Alaska to my receiver in British Columbia.”

Everyone who picked up the pulse did so because Earth’s ionosphere reflected some of HAARP’s radio energy back to Earth. Only a fraction escaped into space and reached the asteroid. Tilley’s high-time-resolution recording of the pulse shows that multiple reflections (probably with a dash of ducting and refraction) were involved.

The complexity of the ionosphere, and how it modifies shortwave signals, is a key challenge for researchers who will be processing radar returns from asteroid 2010 XC15. Good luck to the radar team as we await their results!

[ANS thanks spaceweather.com for the above information]

Space junk bill passes Senate unanimously

U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper applauded Senate passage of his Orbital Sustainability (ORBITS) Act, a bipartisan bill to establish a first-of-its-kind demonstration program to reduce the amount of space junk in orbit. The bill passed the Senate unanimously.

“From satellite communications to rockets carrying humans into deep space, space debris is a massive threat to space operations,” said Hickenlooper, chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Space and Science. “I’m over the moon that our ORBITS Act passed and we can start cleaning up this space junk.”

Space junk, or orbital debris, currently threatens human space exploration, scientific research missions, and emerging commercial space services. There are approximately 8,000 metric tons of debris currently in orbit, including at least 900,000 individual pieces of debris that are potentially lethal to satellites. Because of the magnitude of the current debris, simply preventing more debris in the future is not enough. The ORBITS Act will jumpstart a program focused on research, development, and the demonstration of technologies capable of safely carrying out successful Active Debris Remediation (ADR) missions to create a new market for these services.

Additional information may be found at https://bit.ly/3WwsCCa

[ANS thanks spacedaily.com for the above information]

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TJREVERB was deployed from the ISS on December 29, 2022

TJREVERB, an APRS digipeater 2U cubesat on 145.825 MHz, built by students at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology was deployed on December 29, 2022 by NanoRacks from the International Space Station. TJREVERB was launched on November 22 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida as part of the SpaceX-26 Commercial Resupply Service Mission en route to the International Space Station. The launch is the culmination of seven years of hard work for TJ Space. Led by Robotics lab director Kristen Kucko, many students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology have had a hand in this historic launch.

A statement and description of the mission by Michael Roth and Kristen Kucko of Thomas Jefferson High School states: “TJ REVERB is significant because the CubeSat was designed, built, coded and integrated entirely by high school students,” said Kucko. “The students did not use a satellite kit, nor did they have an industry or university partnership to assist them. Building satellites is not an easy task. According to Col. Nick Hague, Astronaut, (some)countries have not been able to build CubeSats. The students in TJ Space should be proud of their accomplishments.” Additional information about the project may be found at: https://tjhsst.fcps.edu/features/launch-tjreverb-culmination-seven-year-project-tj-space

Kirsten Kucko, the teacher sponsoring the TJ Space team wrote, “TJ Space received crowdsourced reports that there is an APRS unit digipeating within the vicinity of the ISS. The spacecraft has the orbital characteristics of one of the satellites launched during the NRCSD 24 mission. ” Since TJREVEB is the only CubeSat using APRS in that vicinity, TJREVERB could very well be that spacecraft. It is TJ Space’s assertion that something went critically wrong with TJREVERB’s implementation of the Iridium radio and Iridium did not receive power to turn on. The APRS radio powered on as the backup radio and started digipeating. TJ Space continues to search for confirmation that this spacecraft is indeed TJREVERB.

Any help from the community would be greatly appreciated.

[ANS thanks Michael Roth and Kristen Kucko or Thomas Jefferson High School and JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above information]

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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for Jan 1, 2023

The following satellite has been removed from this week’s AMSAT-NA TLE
distribution:

MYSat 1 NORAD Cat ID 44045 (Decayed from orbit 12/16/2022 per SpaceTrack).

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

OSCAR number assigned for CAS-10

On November 12, 2022, the XW-4 (CAS-10) satellite was launched to the Chinese Space Station aboard the Tianzhou-5 spacecraft, by the Long March-7 Y6 launch vehicle from the Wenchang Launch Center in Hainan, China. On December 18, the XW-4 (CAS-10) satellite was separated from the station. The Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) built and operates the satellite, in cooperation with a Chinese government space contractor and Macau University of Science and Technology, to serve radio amateurs around the world and educate students in space and radio communication science and technology. This satellite is also known as Macao Student Science Popularization Satellite No. 1, and is the first satellite from the Macao Special Administrative Region. The satellite carries a V/u linear transponder, and CW and GMSK telemetry beacons for amateur radio use.

At the request of CAMSAT and the XW-4 (CAS-10) team, AMSAT hereby designates the satellite as Hope-OSCAR 119 (HO-119). We congratulate all the involved teams, thank them for their contribution to the amateur satellite community, and wish them continued success on this and future projects.

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

ARISS NEWS

No School Contacts are currently scheduled.

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

Chris VE3FU / VO2AC / VO1FUA / VE2FUA: The weekend of January 27-29 @Dave_VE3KG and Chris, VE3FU will be competing in the CQ160 CW Contest as VO2AC from the Point Amour Lighthouse in Labrador (Zone 2). They will also be on the other HF bands starting January 24 as VO2AC and VO2AAA. They also plan on operating the linear and FM satellites from grid GO11 as VO2AC and VO2AAA from January 24-27.

[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.

MSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford K6ALCS has a few satellite presentations scheduled:
-Greenville, North Carolina (1/10/23)
-Ontario, Canada (1/16/23)
-Thames Valley, England (5/11/23)

Ham Radio University will be held 1/7/2023. Registration is now open for this virtual event at https://hamradiouniversity.org/. Peter Portanova, W2JV will be hosting a Satellite Forum on the History of Amateur Satellites.

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

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ SpaceX launches first mission for Starlink Gen2 constellation using a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Wednesday with 54 more Starlink internet satellites, a mission to begin populating a new orbital shell authorized by federal regulators earlier this month for the company’s Starlink Gen2 network. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on SpaceX’s Starlink 5-1 mission occurred at 4:34 a.m. EST (0934 GMT) Wednesday, about six minutes earlier than previously announced. The mission was SpaceX’s 60th launch of the year, with one more Falcon 9 flight set to blast off later this week from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, with an Israeli Earth-imaging satellite. he 54 satellites launching Wednesday were the first spacecraft deployed into a new segment of the Starlink constellation. The Falcon 9 rocket released the 54 satellites at an orbital altitude and inclination set aside for use by SpaceX’s second-generation Starlink network, which the company eventually intends to launch on the new Starship mega-rocket. More at https://bit.ly/3IcrO0P. [ANS thanks spaceflightnow.com for the above information]

+ An Israeli reconnaissance satellite was carried into orbit during the final SpaceX launch of the year. The EROS-3 Earth-imaging satellite was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:38 p.m. Thursday. The first stage detached successfully and landed on a SpaceX pad eight minutes after launch. The rocket was launched in retrograde, against the direction of the Earth’s rotation, and carried the EROS-3 into low Earth orbit. More information is available at: https://bit.ly/3G8FXJI [ANS thanks Patrick Hilsman, UPI and Spacedaily.com for the above information]

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

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

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

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

This week’s ANS Editor, Jack Spitznagel
kd4iz [at] frawg dot org

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

December 27, 2022 by Paul Stoetzer

Remember to use the minimum power required for communication as constant carrier modes, including CW, can disrupt transponder operation for other users.