ANS-100 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for April 10

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/

In this edition:

  • Axiom Private Astronauts Headed to International Space Station
  • NASA Astronaut-Ham Colonel Douglas Wheelock Speaks in Pennsylvania
  • AMSAT Discord Server Open to All
  • AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention — Call for Volunteers
  • New FCC Application Fee Will Not Apply to Amateur License Upgrades
  • ARISS News
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
  • AMSAT Ambassador Activity Report
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-100 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2022 April 10

Axiom Private Astronauts Headed to International Space Station

Four private astronauts are in orbit following the successful launch of Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1), the first all private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Axiom Space astronauts lifted off at 15:17 UTC on Friday, April 8, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled the Dragon Endeavour spacecraft carrying Ax-1 crew members Michael López-Alegría, KE5GTK, Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, KO4WFH, and Eytan Stibbe, 4Z9SPC, into orbit. The crew will spend more than a week conducting scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities on the space station.

[Outreach activities for the Axiom crew include a flurry of ARISS school contacts in the coming week. See ARISS News, below.]

Once aboard the station, the Axiom crew will be welcomed by Expedition 67 crew members, including NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn, KE5HOC, Raja Chari, KI5LIU, and Kayla Barron, KI5LAL, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, KI5KFH, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Sergey Korsokov, and Denis Matveev.

Axiom Space astronauts are expected to spend about 10 days in orbit before a return to Earth and splashdown at one of seven landing sites off the coast of Florida. NASA and Axiom will release separate advisories to preview the Ax-1 farewell event and return coverage.

Learn more about how NASA is supporting a space economy in low-Earth orbit: https://www.nasa.gov/leo-economy

[ANS thanks spaceref.com and NASA for the above information]

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The 2022 AMSAT President’s Club coins have arrived!
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of its launch on
October 15, 1972, this year’s coin features
an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 6.
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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NASA Astronaut-Ham Colonel Douglas Wheelock Speaks in Pennsylvania

The Murgas Amateur Radio Club (MARC), K3YTL, an ARRL-affiliated club in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, presented two appearances by NASA Astronaut Colonel Douglas Wheelock on April 6, 2022. The events were held in cooperation with NASA, the University of Scranton, and Misericordia University.

Colonel Wheelock, now retired, was selected by NASA in 1998 and has accumulated more than 178 days in space. He is a radio amateur, and his call sign is KF5BOC. During his time in space, Wheelock made many ham radio contacts from the space shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) with radio amateurs and student groups.

Wheelock flew on Shuttle Mission STS-120 in 2007, and in 2010, he began a long-duration stay aboard the ISS as a flight engineer for Expedition 24 and as a commander for Expedition 25. During this mission, Wheelock conducted three unplanned spacewalks to replace a faulty ammonia pump module. While on board the ISS, both Wheelock and fellow Astronaut Shannon Walker, KD5DXB, participated in the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. They made 22 ISS-to-school and ISS-to-camp ham radio contacts. In addition, Wheelock averaged about two dozen casual contacts with radio amateurs around the world each week while on board the ISS.

The Binghamton, New York native holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Science and Engineering from the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia.

Wheelock’s first appearance was to be at 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday, April 6 at the University of Scranton DeNaples Center-Moskovitz Theater. The second appearance was scheduled for 7 p.m. at Misericordia University’s Frank M. and Dorothea Henry Science Center in Dallas, Pennsylvania.

[ANS thanks ARRL for the above information]


AMSAT Discord Server Open to All

AMSAT is pleased to announce the availability of a Discord server for the amateur satellite community. Discord is a text, voice, and video client that has become very popular in recent years. Discord will provide the amateur satellite community with an additional option to communicate amongst each other, in real-time.

Discord provides several neat features, including the following:

* Ability to create channels, to organize different conversation topics
* Hosting of events, that can include voice and or video chat
* For satellite launch parties!
* Use of bots to automate useful actions
-Try typing /tle AO-92
-More commands are in development!
* Notification of Twitter posts of interest
-Currently only following @AMSAT Twitter account

A special section of the server is reserved for AMSAT members. If you are a current member, please send a message in the #request-roles channel once you join the server, indicating whether you are a member or life member. Once the member role is granted, you will be able to post in the “Members Only” category. If you are not yet an AMSAT member, join today at https://launch.amsat.org/.

The link below can be used to join the server. See you in Discord!

https://discord.gg/xbTXcPJHyt

[ANS thanks AMSAT 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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AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention — Call for Volunteers

In 2019, we had about 40 people assist with the AMSAT booth at the Hamvention. It was the efforts of those volunteers that made the 2019 Dayton Hamvention a success for AMSAT.

The interaction with AMSAT members, satellite operators, designers, and builders makes the whole experience a lot of fun.

The 2022 Hamvention is May 20-22: At the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia, Ohio. Would you consider helping AMSAT at the Hamvention this year?

Whether you’re available for only a couple of hours or if you can spend the entire weekend with us, your help would be greatly appreciated.

Please send an e-mail to Phil, w1eme [at] amsat.org if you can help.

[ANS thanks Phil Smith, W1EME, Dayton Team Lead, for the above information]


New FCC Application Fee Will Not Apply to Amateur License Upgrades

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) staff has clarified in response to an ARRL request that the new $35 application fee will not apply to most license modifications, including those to upgrade amateur radio licensee’s operator class and changes to club station trustees. The FCC staff explained that the new fees will apply only to applications for a new license, renewal, rule waiver, or a new vanity call sign. As previously announced, the new fees take effect on April 19, 2022.

“We are pleased that the FCC will not charge licensees the FCC application fee for license upgrade applications,” said ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM. “While applicants for a new license will need to pay the $35 FCC application fee, there will be no FCC charge for future upgrades and administrative updates, such as a change of mailing or email address. Most current licensees, therefore, will not be charged the new FCC application fee until they renew their license or apply for a new vanity call sign.”

ARRL previously reported that the new $35 application fee for amateur radio licenses will become effective on April 19, 2022. Further information and instructions about the FCC Application Fee are available from the ARRL VEC page at, https://www.arrl.org/fcc-application-fee

[ANS thanks ARRL News 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, unless otherwise noted.

These contacts were recently completed successfully:

Leonardo-Da-Vinci Campus Nauen, Nauen, Germany, direct via DC1RSN in contact with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, KI5KFH, operating as DPØISS. The contact was completed on Wednesday, 2022-04-06 at 11:48:08 UTC on a 26 degree pass. Congratulations to the Leonardo-Da-Vinci Campus Nauen students and Matthias!

Space Hardware Club, Huntsville, Alabama, direct via K4UAH in contact with astronaut Thomas Marshburn, KE5HOC, operating as NA1SS. The contact was completed on Thursday 2022-04-07 at 17:07:39 UTC on a 36 degree pass. Congratulations to Space Hardware Club and Thomas!

These contacts are scheduled for the coming week:

DLR_School_Lab TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany, direct via DLØTSD in contact with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, KI5KFH, operating as DPØISS. Contact is go for: Mon 2022-04-11 14:14:21 UTC 44 degrees. Watch for Livestream at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LKjD2QlisM

École Secondaire St. Albert Catholic High School, St. Albert, AB, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD in contact with Axiom astronaut Mark Pathy, KO4WFH, operating as OR4ISS. Contact is go for: Mon 2022-04-11 15:50:31 UTC 33 degrees. Watch for Livestream starting about 15 minutes before AOS: www.ariotti.com and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA55YJg_jvRtoEBPKK-p__A

Dr. David R. William School, Oakville, ON, Canada, Telebridge via K6DUE in contact with Axiom astronaut Mark Pathy, KO4WFH, operating as NA1SS. Contact is go for: Wed 2022-04-13 13:57:41 UTC 86 degrees.

École Secondaire Sainte Marguerite d’Youville, St. Albert, AB, Canada, telebridge via AB1OC in contact with Axiom astronaut Mark Pathy, KO4WFH, operating as NA1SS. Contact is go for: Wed 2022-04-13 15:36:27 UTC 24 degrees.

Rakia – Herzliya Science Center, Herzliya, Israel, direct via 4X4HSC in contact with Axiom astronaut Eytan Stibbe, 4Z9SPC. Contact is go for: Thu 2022-04-14 13:32:09 UTC 89 degrees. Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1gJRBkNXyv5tbMZkmjzi4g and ARISS YouTube channel.

École Elementaire Ste. Jean D’Arc, London, ON, Canada, Telebridge via AB1OC in contact with Axiom astronaut Mark Pathy, KO4WFH, operating as NA1SS. Contact is go for: Thu 2022-04-14 14:47:54 UTC 31 degrees.

École Marie Poburan, St. Albert, AB, Canada, telebridge via VK5ZAI in contact with Axiom astronaut Mark Pathy, KO4WFH, operating as NA1SS. Contact is go for: Thu 2022-04-14 17:20:49 UTC 35 degrees.

SSTV Event

Watch for SSTV event honoring Cosmonautics Day and Women in Space starting 2022-04-11 at 16:30 UTC and ending 2022-04-13 at 12: 00 UTC. The mode will be PD120.

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

KX9X and N9NCY: April 8-10: EM57 + EM66 (IL/TN): EM57 will only be on April 8 and April 10 while en route to EM66; EM66 will be April 9. Linear and FM, holiday style. Passes to be determined based on travel schedule. Log/Upload as KX9X/R and N9NCY/R. Follow them at @SeanKutzko and @Nancy_N9NCY on Twitter for real-time info on what passes they will be on.

WL7T: 4/30, DM02 Check twitter for passes. LoTW: WL7T/P

W3IPA: DM42 vacation planned for Jul 30- Aug 6th will be on FM passes vacation style. I will be close to DM41 so might be able to work a gridline. Will post more updates closer to that week!

IN51/61 – Portugal: EA4NF is heading to Portugal April 13-16, FM & Linears. LoTW: CT7/EA4NF

FK78 British Virgin Islands: VP2V/N2IEN – N2IEN, WW2DX, WW1X, W2RE and KB2HZI holiday style to FK78pj April 10-16, 2022. 6M-160M with focus on higher bands. Possibly some #amsat passes. No EME this trip. QSL to EB7DX @david_lianez @DAILYDX @DX_World @dxcoffee (from Twitter)

[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.

N4HF is heading out to the NC Hamfest! NC Hamfest, Saturday April 16, there will be a forum (presented by Ernie, N4AEW), demos (by John KG4AKV), and an info table (manned by me, N4HF) Jim Graham Building – NC State Fairgrounds 4285 Trinity Rd, Raleigh, NC 27607 https://www.rarsfest.org/

Brainerd Area Hamfest: Brainerd National Guard Armory: 4/23/22 https://brainerdham.org/

Hamvention (see call for volunteers, above)
May 20-22, 2022
Greene County Fairgrounds & Expo Center
120 Fairgrounds Road
Xenia, OH 45385
https://www.hamvention.org

2022 Rocky Mountain ARRL Division Convention
Friday, October 7th, 2022 to Sunday, October 9th, 2022
Event Center at Archer
3921 Archer Pkwy
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82007
https://wyhamcon.org/site

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


AMSAT Ambassador Activity Report

Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ, gave a virtual presentation on March 26, on general SDR usage and the Fox-In-A-Box Raspberry Pi image, to the Dallas Amateur Radio Club “Lecture and Lab” special interest group organized by Bill Brady, KF5ZBL. It was well received and many of the participants had their RTL-SDR and RPi SBC’s ready to go. They experimented with the software during the lab portion while Jack reviewed the slides on configuration and answered questions.

The Club also expressed interest in having a live demonstration of the CubeSat Simulator and building one of the simple L.B. Cebik turnstyle antenna designs that was presented. Jack reached out to Dallas area AMSAT Ambassador Tom Scheussler, N5HYP, who will follow up.

On April 2, a second live presentation was made to a local club to the K3AE/South Pennsylvania Communications Group based in Shrewsbury and York County, Penn., of which Jack is a member. Again the presentation was well received and many questions came up. This time he added a live demonstration of the CubeSat Simulator Mini prototype and had participants bring their 434 MHz capable HT’s to monitor the sound of the various telemetry streams.

This club has become increasingly interested in Satellite and Balloon ops. Their balloon team recently launched the W3UAV-7 APRS balloon which is now on the second circumnavigation pass around the globe. They plan to have Jack bring the full size simulator to the summer township Fireman’s fair where the club will have a booth demonstrating all of their activities, from HF and VHF contesting to fast scan TV and satellite ops. Among our exhibits, they will have a complete satellite ground station on display and we will attempt some contacts from FM19ps. Stay tuned for the “rove” announcement.

The PDF of the presentation (which may be shared) is at:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h8o63ok1ccjc6ze/SDR%20applications%20ver3.pdf?dl=0
It lacks the A/V screen grabs that the PowerPoint uses.

[ANS thanks Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ, AMSAT Ambassador, for the above information]


Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Morazán is a project for Central American integration through cooperation in space. Its objective is to put into orbit the first Honduran satellite developed by the National Autonomous University of Honduras with the cooperation of the University of Costa Rica and the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. The project is led by the Secretariat of the Central American Integration System and has the support of the Radio Clubs of Honduras and Costa Rica, as well as the Federated College of Engineers and Architects of Costa Rica. (ANS thanks https://ti0rc.org/amsat-ti for the above information)

+ The Portland State University publication, PSU Vanguard, published a feature story about the Portland State Aerospace Society and the successful launch of their OreSat0 satellite. The launch took place on March 15, 2022, and the satellite downlinks on 436.500 MHz and 2425.00 MHz using 9k6 G3RUH AX25/APRS packet beacons. Amateur radio is mentioned briefly in the article, which may be found at https://bit.ly/3766ZUB (ANS thanks PSU Vanguard for the above information)

+ NASA officials said on Tuesday, April 5, that they are standing down from a cryogenic loading test on the agency’s Space Launch System moon rocket until after the launch of a commercial crew mission from a neighboring pad at the Kennedy Space Center. [That launch took place on April 8.] A countdown test Monday, April 4, was delayed by what NASA managers characterized as minor issues. The countdown dress rehearsal is a key test before NASA completes final preparations on the Space Launch System and Orion crew capsule. The giant rocket is set to launch no earlier than June on the unpiloted Artemis 1 test flight around the moon, laying the groundwork for future lunar missions with astronauts on-board. (ANS thanks SpaceFlightNow for the above information)

+ Amazon announced the largest commercial launch deal in history April 5, revealing agreements for up to 83 missions to deploy thousands of internet satellites on United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket, Arianespace’s Ariane 6, and Blue Origin’s New Glenn vehicle. The agreements solidify the commercial business cases for all three rockets, more than doubling the backlogs for Vulcan Centaur, Ariane 6, and New Glenn rockets before any of them have ever flown. Amazon’s Kuiper network, similar in concept to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation and the OneWeb satellite fleet, will provide low-latency Ka-band broadband internet connectivity to customers between 56 degrees north and 56 degrees south latitude. (ANS thanks SpaceFlightNow for the above information)

+ SpaceX has lost the right to provide Starlink broadband services in France after the country’s highest administrative court revoked its spectrum license. France’s Conseil d’État ruled April 5 that French telecoms regulator ARCEP should have launched a public consultation before authorizing Starlink in February 2021. The ruling came after Priartem and Agir Pour L’Environnement, two French environmental activist organizations, submitted an appeal to challenge ARCEP’s decision to award Starlink frequency rights. Agir pour l’Environnement (Acting for the Environment), has called for stronger regulations on megaconstellations to protect views of the night sky and reduce space debris risks. (ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information)

+ On April Fools Day, SpaceX launched their fourth dedicated SSO rideshare mission with 40 spacecraft onboard. The largest payload was the German hyperspectral Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program satellite at 980 kg. Other payloads included 5 ÑuSat visible + IR Earth observation sats, 12 Swarm 1/4U (400g) Spacebees, GNOMES-3 (radio occultation weather forecasting), Albania’s first satellite (Albania-1), amateur radio BDSat, and D-Orbit’s ION SCV orbital transfer vehicle that will host or later release “four Kleos Space CubeSats, three CubeSats from the University of Chile, and a passive payload for Spacelust called Upmosphere.” SpaceX’s Transporter-5 is scheduled for June. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index 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, K0JM
k0jm at amsat dot org

ANS-093 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for Apr. 3

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-093

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/

In this edition:

  • AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention — Call for Volunteers
  • Kerry Banke to be honored with the 2022 Hamvention Special Achievement Award
  • NASA On The Air (NOTA) Special Event Stations
  • VUCC Satellite Awards/Endorsements For April 1, 2022
  • New GridMasters
  • ARISS News
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-093 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2022 Apr 3

AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention — Call for Volunteers

The Dayton Hamvention is six weeks away!

It is time to be creating your shopping list and making your travel plans.

We’ve had a good response so far to our call for volunteers, but we could really use another 10-15 people.

The 2022 Hamvention is May 20-22 in Xenia, Ohio. Would you consider helping AMSAT at the Hamvention this year?

The interaction with AMSAT members, satellite operators, designers, and builders makes the whole experience a lot of fun. Meet or renew acquaintances, exchange operating tips, and find out what antennas, software and equipment other AMSAT members use.

If you’re an experienced operator, great! We can use you and your experience.

If you’ve never operated a satellite before, but want to learn more, that’s OK. We can use your help too.

Whether you’re available for only a couple of hours or if you can spend the entire weekend with us, your help would be greatly appreciated.

Please send an e-mail to Phil, w1eme at amsat.org if you can help. Thank you!

[ANS thanks Phil Smith, W1EME, AMSAT Dayton Hamvention Team Lead, for the above information]

Kerry Banke to be honored with the 2022 Hamvention Special Achievement Award

The Hamvention awards committee recently announced that Kerry Banke, N6IZW, has won the 2022 Hamvention Special Achievement Award for his efforts in the design, development, manufacturing, and human spaceflight certification of the ARISS Multi-Voltage Power Supply (MVPS). The MVPS is a foundational element of the ARISS next generation radio system, which is now on-orbit. The Hamvention Special Achievement Award is given each year to a deserving amateur that has made an outstanding contribution advancing the art and/or science.

Now retired, Banke spent most of his career in the research and development of electronics systems as a microwave RF (Radio Frequency) electrical engineer. This included 14 years as Qualcomm engineer, developing innovative microwave wireless technologies. Kerry’s electronic interests span DC (Direct Current) to light with particular interest and expertise in microwaves. His ham radio operations have included transmissions on 136 kHz through Laser. Since 1982 he has served as host of the San Diego Microwave Group’s monthly meeting, sharing his expertise with other hams of like interest.

Mr. Banke’s exceptional support to Human Spaceflight Amateur Radio began in 1994 where he served as a school technical mentor and certified ground station for the Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX) program. When NASA transitioned from the Shuttle to the International Space Station (ISS), Kerry became an exemplary member of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) hardware team. For seven years, working from his home and electronics lab garage in La Mesa, California, Mr. Banke led the circuit design, breadboarding, flight circuit board layout, assembly, and testing of the MVPS. The MVPS, which occupies a volume roughly the size of two stacked reams of paper, can connect into different ISS power sources (120 VDC and 28 VDC) and simultaneously power up to 18 devices with multiple voltage level input needs.

ARISS USA Executive Director, Frank Bauer, said “The ARISS team is proud of Kerry’s sustained exemplary support to ARISS. His contributions to our next generation radio system are transformative, enabling expanded ARISS operations for ham radio operators and enhanced STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education outcomes for youth.” Through this system 60 to 80 foreign and domestic ARISS school contacts are conducted each year with 150,000 to 200,000 students, teachers, and members of the public engaged. Amateur radio operators also enjoy over 100,000 digital and voice repeater connections from this radio system each year.

[ANS thanks ARISS-USA for the above information]

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The 2022 AMSAT President’s Club coins have arrived!
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of its launch on
October 15, 1972, this year’s coin features
an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 6.
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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NASA On The Air (NOTA) Special Event Stations

There is an Amateur Radio club established at many NASA field centers across the USA. Their members gather together to highlight NASA milestones the way such events are done best. That is, through radio. These club members are made up of civil servants, contractor personnel, retirees and recognized community members. Some clubs are large and well supported, some are small and struggle. But they have a common goal to show their support to NASA and space fans everywhere by highlighting the history of some amazing accomplishments.

The first NASA On The Air (NOTA) special event of the year will be held on Saturday, April 23, through Wednesday, April 27, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 16 mission to the moon. Different NASA radio clubs will go on the air at different times to make two-way contacts with fellow space enthusiastic ham radio operators.

For the list of suggested frequencies, modes, points scoring, rules, certificates, procedures and news, please visit NasaOnTheAir.wordpress.com each day.

Be sure to watch for posts on Twitter.com/NASARadioClubs (a Twitter account is NOT required to view) for late breaking news updates — and don’t forget your favorite spotting network — for NOTA activity live and in real time.

For QSL card information, please check the QRZ.com page for each individual NASA club callsign.

[ANS thanks Pat Kilroy, N8PK, NASA Engineer and AMSAT Ambassador 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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VUCC Upgrades/Endorsements for April 1, 2022

CallsignMarch 1, 2022April 1, 2022
PS8ET600726
K9UO695700
WD9EWK (DM43)675679
AC9O549675
N5BO635650
K0JM500601
KE8FZT550576
KS1G525551
WB7VUF455510
KN2K450505
DF2ET400500
EA2AA425483
N6UTC450475
AE5B450459
HP2VX425453
XE1MYO200349
K4RGK278313
VE3KY278304
XE1GK265300
DG7RO172285
N3CAL224235
N5EKO207234
AC9DX141228
WD9EWK (DM41)187207
A65BR157181
WB9YIGNew175
DL8GAMNew152
PS7JNNew152
OE7BJT107150
N2ZN135147
TG9AMDNew141
XE2YWH (DL82) 110113
PP2RON106108
XE2YWH (DL82)105108
VE7PTNNew104
US6IKNNew102
AG7NRNew101
DH0GSUNew100
K4NHWNew100
PU5DDCNew100
XE1YDKNew100

Congratulations to the new VUCC holders.

TG9AMD is first Guatemala and grid EK44
PU5DDC is first grid GG53
PS7JN is first grid HI24
DL8GAM is first grid JO42
US6IKN is first Ukraine and grid KN59

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

New GridMasters

AMSAT’s most prestigious award is the GridMaster Award. This award was first introduced by Star Comm Group in 2014. AMSAT thanks Damon Runion, WA4HFN, and Rick Tillman, WA4NVM, for not only sponsoring this award since its inception, but, also, entrusting AMSAT with the honor of carrying on this important award for the benefit of the entire AMSAT community.

The GridMaster award is available to all amateurs worldwide who submit proof with written confirmation of contacts with each of the 488 maidenhead grids located within the contiguous United States of America via amateur satellite.

Thanks to a couple of March roves, four new amateur satellite operators have joined the GridMaster club, bringing the total number of hams who have worked and confirmed all 488 maidenhead grids within the contiguous United States to 38.

Congratulations to the newest GridMasters!

35 Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK March 15, 2022
36 Dennis Love N7EGY March 26, 2022
37 Chris Wilford VE7CEW March 26, 2022
38 Merle Olmsted AA4QE March 28, 2022

See the full list at https://www.amsat.org/gridmaster/

[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards for the above information]

ARISS News

Leonardo-Da-Vinci Campus Nauen, Nauen, Germany, direct via DC1RSN

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be DPØISS
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
The scheduled crewmember is Matthias Maurer KI5KFH

Contact is go for: Wed 2022-04-06 11:48:08 UTC 26 deg
Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk3nn3CYKoM

Space Hardware Club, Huntsville, Alabama, direct via K4UAH

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
The scheduled crewmember is Thomas Marshburn KE5HOC

Contact is go for: Thu 2022-04-07 17:07:39 UTC 36 deg

Exp. 64 back on earth

Pyotr Dubrov
Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP

Exp. 65 back on earth

Anton Shkaplerov

Congratulations to all for a job well done

The USOS ARISS station is currently operating in voice cross-band repeater mode

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

KX9X and N9NCY:

April 8-10: EM57 + EM66 (IL/TN): EM57 will only be on April 8 and April 10 while en route to EM66; EM66 will be April 9. Linear and FM, holiday style. Passes to be determined based on travel schedule. Log/Upload as KX9X/R and N9NCY/R.

Follow them at @SeanKutzko and @Nancy_N9NCY on Twitter for real-time info on what passes they will be on.

WL7T: 4/3, DN57/58 and DN67/68

WL7T: 4/30, DM02 Check twitter for passes.

K4DCA: EM96 4/6 – 4/9. Will be in EM96 on April 6-9 with FM and Linear gear. Vacation style. Also the possibility of hitting FM08 and FM09 on the way to/from.

W3IPA: DM42 vacation planned for Jul 30- Aug 6th will be on FM passes vacation style. I will be close to DM41 so might be able to work a gridline. Will post more updates closer to that week!

[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.

N4HF will be at the following event:

Raleigh NC Hamfest (info table and demos; possible forum, but not likely at this point)
April 16
Jim Graham Building – NC State Fairgrounds
4285 Trinity Rd, Raleigh, NC 27607
https://www.rarsfest.org/

Other events with a scheduled AMSAT presence:

+ CubeSat Developers Workshop
April 26–28, 2022
San Luis Obispo, CA

+ Hamvention 2022
May 20, 2022 to May 22, 2022
Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center
210 Fairground Road
Xenia, Ohio 45385
https://www.hamvention.org

+ 2022 Rocky Mountain ARRL Division Convention
October 7, 2022 – October 9, 2022
Event Center at Archer
3921 Archer Pkwy
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82007
https://wyhamcon.org/site

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page 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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Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ JAMSAT has posted the April FO-99 Operating Schedule at https://www.jamsat.or.jp/?p=1806

+ An initial distance record has been claimed via the MO-112 digipeater: EA4SG in IN80cp worked DG9MA in JN58di, a distance of 1,406 km on 22-Mar-2022 at 21:01 UTC. Who can do better? https://www.amsat.org/satellite-distance-records/

+ A new modern distance record has been claimed via AO-7 Mode A. VE6WQ in DO33 worked F4DXV in JN04 on 23-Mar-2022 – a distance of 7,454 km. Note that AO-7 Mode A supported some very long distance QSOs during it’s early life in the 1970s. If anyone has any information about extreme distance QSOs on AO-7 Mode A, please contact n8hm at amsat.org.

+ The AMSAT CubeSatSim PCB sets are finally back in stock at the AMSAT Store. Get yours today at https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-cubesatsim-pcb/

+ New v1.2 software release for the AMSAT CubeSatSim project! This release fixes an issue with the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W that can cause an auto shutdown if battery isn’t fully charged. No change for other hardware. https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/releases/tag/v1.2

+ Remember to get your tickets for the AMSAT/TAPR Banquet at the Dayton Hamvention! The 13th annual AMSAT/TAPR Banquet will be held at the Kohler Presidential Banquet Center on Friday, May 20th at 18:30 EDT. This dinner is always a highlight of the AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corp.) and TAPR (Tucson Amateur Packet Radio) activities during the Dayton Hamvention. This year’s banquet will honor the life and accomplishments of long time amateur satellite and amateur packet pioneer Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, who passed away in February. https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-tapr-joint-hamvention-banquet-registration/

+ A MAI-75 SSTV Event is scheduled for April 7th and 8th. Details at https://issfanclub.eu/2022/04/01/mai-75-sstv-event-7-and-8-april-2022/

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,

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at amsat dot org

ANS-086 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for March 27

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-086

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/

In this edition:

* AMSAT/TAPR Banquet To Be Held in Honor of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR
* AMSAT-LU WSPR Beacon in Antarctica
* Artemis I rollout * FCC $35 Amateur Application Fee Effective Date Announced
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

ANS-086 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

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

DATE 2022 Mar 27

AMSAT/TAPR Banquet To Be Held in Honor of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR

The 13th annual AMSAT/TAPR Banquet will be held at the Kohler Presidential Banquet Center on Friday, May 20th at 18:30 EDT. This dinner is always a highlight of the AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corp.) and TAPR (Tucson Amateur Packet Radio) activities during the Dayton Hamvention. This year’s banquet will honor the life and accomplishments of long time amateur satellite and amateur packet pioneer Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, who passed away in February.

The Kohler Presidential Banquet Center is located at 4548 Presidential Way, Kettering, Ohio – about 20 minutes away from the Greene County Fairgrounds.

Tickets ($57 each) may be purchased from the AMSAT store. The banquet ticket purchase deadline is Friday, May 13th. Banquet tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at the AMSAT booth. There will be no tickets to pick up at the AMSAT booth. Tickets purchased on-line will be maintained on a list with check-in at the door at the banquet center. Seating is limited to the number of meals reserved with the Kohler caterers based on the number of tickets sold by the deadline.

Register today at https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-tapr-joint-hamvention- banquet-registration/

[ANS thanks AMSAT & TAPR for the above information]

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The 2022 AMSAT President’s Club coins have arrived!
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of its launch on
October 15, 1972, this year’s coin features
an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 6.
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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AMSAT-LU WSPR Beacon in Antarctica

AMSAT Argentina has prepared and donated to Cocoantar (Antarctic Joint Command), a beacon in WSPR mode (WSPR = emission of signals of minimum power 200mW and long range)

On March 22, 2022, when the winter south hemisphere solstice occurred (passage of the sun over the equator to the north), this beacon was installed and began its operation at 40, 20, 15 and 10m from the Esperanza (Hope) Antarctic base, emitting with his Call Sign LU1ZV.

In just one day, this permanent beacon has already been received and confirmed by multiple stations, allowing real-time viewing of propagation and range conditions in the bands that are broadcasted.

This reaffirms and makes known to the world the will and commitment of Argentina of its permanent presence in Antarctica together with the Argentine Amateur Radio in the white continent by the hand of AMSAT-LU.

To track, maps, graph and details see http://lu7aa.org/dx.asp?call=LU1ZV or by radio.
AMSAT Argentina, LU7AA, thanks Cocoantar and AMSAT Argentina members and friends for being part and driving force of this special event, including its President LU4BMG, the President of CETRA LU8YY/Q, members of its Board of Directors and its 2,500 members for accompany this adventure.

[ANS thanks AMSAT Argentina for the above information]


Artemis I Rollout

Artemis I, the culmination of NASA’s roughly $30B, two-decade-long rocket development effort, is now scheduled for launch no earlier than June 6. This first version of the SLS, which photogenically rolled out to the pad for a fueling and countdown ‘wet dress rehearsal’ last week, is 98 m tall and will generate 4 million kg of thrust, 17% more than the Saturn V. It is based largely on Shuttle-era technology developed in the 60s & 70s-its marvelous RS-25 engines are literally scavenged from Shuttles (they were designed to be reusable, but the SLS throws four of them away with every launch) and its solid-fuel boosters are also based on those used by the Shuttle.

For this first SLS test flight, no crew (beyond Moonikin the mannequin) will ride the Orion capsule around the far side of the Moon and back to Earth, but the mission will test all parts of the system for the crewed Artemis II (launching in ~2024). After ULA and Boeing’s Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage pushes Orion into a translunar injection, it will separate and later deploy 10 small spacecraft: NEA Scout (asteroid rendezvous using a solar sail; covered in Issue 126), Lunar IceCube (map lunar water from orbit; Issue 84), LunaH-Map (map hydrogen in high resolution on the Moon’s south pole), BioSentinel (study the effects of deep space radiation on yeast; Issue 14), LunIR (lunar spectroscopy and thermography for surface characterization), CuSP (space weather observation and early warning), Miles CubeSat (a citizen-science mission that will autonomously travel 96 million kilometers using plasma propulsion), EQUULEUS (JAXA; visiting Earth-Moon L2 to study the plasma environment and watch the Moon for meteor impact flashes), OMOTENASHI (JAXA; attempting a lunar landing with a 12 kg spacecraft; Issue 126), and ArgoMoon (Italian Space Agency; optical communications tests, documentation and situational awareness of the ICPS, and finally lunar flybys and imaging in a exceptionally ecliptic geocentric orbit).

Three other payloads, including Lunar Flashlight, were not ready for integration and missed their rides. Related: those 4 RS-25s getting thrown away on every SLS launch cost a staggering $146 million each-here are some other things you could buy for roughly the cost of one SLS engine: two basic Atlas V launches, three Falcon 9 launches, or a fully expendable Falcon Heavy launch, with ⅔ the SLS’s lift capacity at 1/27th the cost. As we mentioned a few weeks ago, the first four Artemis missions are now estimated to cost $4.1 billion per launch. It’s a pretty rocket though.

[ANS thanks The Orbital Index 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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FCC $35 Amateur Application Fee Effective Date Announced

The FCC released a Public Notice on March 23, 2022, stating that the amateur radio application fees, including those associated with Form 605 application filings, would become effective on April 19, 2022. The Federal Communications Commission’s authority to impose and collect fees is mandated by Congress. The $35 application fee, when it becomes effective on April 19, will apply to new, modification (upgrade and sequential call sign change), renewal, and vanity call sign applications. The fee will be per application. Administrative updates, such as a change of name, mailing or email address, will be exempt from fees. VECs and Volunteer Examiner (VE) teams will not have to collect the $35 fee at exam sessions. Once the FCC application fee takes effect, new and upgrade applicants will pay the $15 exam session fee to the ARRL VE team as usual, and pay the $35 application fee directly to the FCC by using the CORES FRN Registration system (CORES – Login). When the FCC receives the examination information from the VEC, it will email a link with payment instructions to each successful candidate who then will have 10 calendar days from the date of the email to pay. After the fee is paid and the FCC has processed an application, examinees will receive a second email from the FCC with a link to their official license. The link will be good for 30 days. Additionally, the FCC stated that applications processed and dismissed will not be entitled to a refund. This includes vanity requests where the applicant does not receive the requested call sign. The FCC published the notice in the Federal Register on March 23, 2022, stating that the amateur radio application fees, including those associated with Form 605 application filings, would become effective on April 19, 2022.

[ANS thanks ARRL 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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ARISS NEWS

Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.

No Educational Contacts have been announced for the dates 27 March to 2 April, 2022.

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

+ KE0PBR: DN88/97 corner. 4/1 around 22:00-03:00. Weather dependent. #GetMitchTheGrids

+ KB2YSI: FN22, 3/26. CVARA Hamfest in Norwich NY (FN22) this Saturday morning. The passes will be mainly overheads as there are a few buildings that will block lower passes

+ W3IPA: DM42 vacation planned for Jul 30- Aug 6th will be on FM passes vacation style. I will be close to DM41 so might be able to work a gridline. Will post more updates closer to that week!

[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 Schedules

+Raleigh NC Hamfest April 16 (AMSAT Ambassador Phillip Jenkins, N4HF) (info table and demos; possible forum, but not likely at this point) Jim Graham Building – NC State Fairgrounds 4285 Trinity Rd, Raleigh, NC 27607 https://www.rarsfest.org/

Scheduled Events with AMSAT involvement:

+ Brainerd Area Hamfest April 23, 2022 Brainerd National Guard Armory Brainerd, MN https://brainerdham.org/

+ CubeSat Developers Workshop April 26-28, 2022 San Luis Obispo, CA

+ Hamvention 2022 May 20, 2022 to May 22, 2022 Greene County Fairgrounds and Expo Center 210 Fairground Road Xenia, Ohio 45385 https://www.hamvention.org

+ 2022 Rocky Mountain ARRL Division Convention October 7, 2022 – October 9, 2022 Event Center at Archer 3921 Archer Pkwy Cheyenne, Wyoming 82007 https://wyhamcon.org/site.

[ANS thanks Phillip Jenkins, N4HF and Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events Page Manager, for the above information]


Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Satellite snoopers pick up surprising tv broadcast: While Internet based streaming services appear to be the future of television, there are still plenty of places where it comes into the home via a cable, satellite, or antenna connection. For most satellite transmissions this now means a digital multiplex carrying a host of channels from a geostationary satellite, for which a set-top box or other decoder is required. Imagine the surprise of satellite-watchers than when the Russian polar communications satellite Meridian 9 which has a highly elliptical orbit was seen transmitting old-style terrestrial analogue TV (ThreadReader Link). What on earth was happening? See https://bit.ly/3D3ELFH for details. [ANS thanks Stephen Walters and Southgate Amateur Radio News for the above information]

+ The count of confirmed exoplanets just ticked past the 5,000 mark, representing a 30-year journey of discovery led by NASA space telescopes. Not so long ago, we lived in a universe with only a small number of known planets, all of them orbiting our Sun. But a new raft of discoveries marks a scientific high point: More than 5,000 planets are now confirmed to exist beyond our solar system. More at https://go.nasa.gov/3Iy7KTd [ANS thanks NASA for the above information]

+ Following the completion of critical mirror alignment steps, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope team expects that Webb’s optical performance will be able to meet or exceed the science goals the observatory was built to achieve. On March 11, the Webb team completed the stage of alignment known as “fine phasing.” At this key stage in the commissioning of Webb’s Optical Telescope Element, every optical parameter that has been checked and tested is performing at, or above, expectations. The team also found no critical issues and no measurable contamination or blockages to Webb’s optical path. The observatory is able to successfully gather light from distant objects and deliver it to its instruments without issue. While the purpose of this image was to focus on the bright star at the center for alignment evaluation, Webb’s optics and NIRCam are so sensitive that the galaxies and stars seen in the background show up. While the purpose of this image was to focus on the bright star at the center for alignment evaluation, Webb’s optics and NIRCam are so sensitive that the galaxies and stars seen in the background show up. Although there are months to go before Webb ultimately delivers its new view of the cosmos, achieving this milestone means the team is confident that Webb’s first-of-its-kind optical system is working as well as possible. More at https://go.nasa.gov/3NfKP2v [ANS thanks NASA and STScI 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, Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ kd4iz at arrl dot org

AMSAT/TAPR Banquet To Be Held in Honor of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR

The 13th annual AMSAT/TAPR Banquet will be held at the Kohler Presidential Banquet Center on Friday, May 20th at 18:30 EDT. This dinner is always a highlight of the AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corp.) and TAPR (Tucson Amateur Packet Radio) activities during the Dayton Hamvention. This year’s banquet will honor the life and accomplishments of long time amateur satellite and amateur packet pioneer Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, who passed away in February.

The Kohler Presidential Banquet Center is located at 4548 Presidential Way, Kettering, Ohio – about 20 minutes away from the Greene County Fairgrounds.

Tickets ($57 each) may be purchased from the AMSAT store. The banquet ticket purchase deadline is Friday, May 13th. Banquet tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at the AMSAT booth. There will be no tickets to pick up at the AMSAT booth. Tickets purchased on-line will be maintained on a list with check-in at the door at the banquet center. Seating is limited to the number of meals reserved with the Kohler caterers based on the number of tickets sold by the deadline.

Click here to register now

[ANS thanks AMSAT & TAPR for the above information]