———- Forwarded message ———-
From: E.Mike McCardel <mccardelm@gmail.com>
Date: 2017-11-26 9:14 GMT+08:00
Subject: [ans] ANS-330 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
To: ans@amsat.org

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-330

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

The news feed on 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.

In this edition:

* AO-91 Commissioned – Declared Open for Amateur Use!
* Fox-1B/AO-91 Facts
* Special AMSAT Membership Offer Celebrating RadFxSat/AO-91
Launch/Commissioning
* FUNcube-1 Celebrates 4th Anniversary
* Video of Launches of the Currently Orbiting FUNcube Satellites
* EcAMSat Deployed From ISS – 1200 baud Telemetry & QSL Card for
Reports
* MAI-75 SSTV Over Moscow from ISS Planned for December 6-8
* UT1FG/MM Now Active
* Support AMSAT on Cyber Monday
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for 11-21-2017, Object Comment
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-330.01
ANS-330 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 330.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
November 26, 2017
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-330.01

AO-91 Commissioned – Declared Open for Amateur Use!

At 06:50 UTC November 23, 2017 @AMSAT Engineering officially
commissioned AO-91 (RadFxSat/Fox-1B) Satellite. AMSAT VP of
Engineering, Jery Buxton N0JY turned over operation to Mark Hammond
N8MH and AMSAT Operations in a QSO on the AO-91 repeater during the
pass over the Eastern U.S.

N8MH responded and declared AO-91 open for amateur use!

[ANS thanks AO-91 Ops Team for the above information]

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Fox-1B/AO-91 Facts

Name(s): AO-91 Fox-1B (RadFxSat)
NASA catalog number: TBD
Launch: Not Earlier Than 21 Sept 2017
NASA ElaNa XIV Mission
JPSS-1 Delta II, Vandenberg AFB, CA
Orbit: LEO (Low Earth Orbit)
Inclination: 97.6908 (Assuming it is Object 43016)
Eccentricity: 0259769 (Assuming it is Object 43016)
Period: Approx. 95 minutes
Estimated orbital lifetime: 5+ years
Size: 10 x 10 x 10 cm (4 inch cube)
Weight: 1.3 kg (~3 pounds)
Transmit power: 400 mW (Minimum)
Downlink: 145.960 MHz FM voice
AFSK digital data up to 9600 bps
Uplink: 435.250 MHz FM voice (67.0 Hz CTCSS tone)

From a communications standpoint Fox-1B has two major changes from
AO-85. First, it will fly with a more sophisticated power control
system which utilizes a Maximum Power Point Tracker to insure optimum
charging of the batteries under all illuminations. This will be
largely transparent to the typical user but will significantly
increase the available battery life. Second, the detection of the
67.0 Hz tone has been enhanced, which will also help accommodate
ground stations whose CTCSS tones may be slightly off frequency. The
combination will make accessing the satellite easier and also
decrease the likelihood of dropouts.

Doppler Shift Correction for Fox-1B

Correcting for Doppler shift will involve the same techniques as for
AO-85, with slightly
different frequencies to prevent mutual spacecraft interference:
Receive Frequency Transmit Frequency
(67.0 Hz Tone)
Satellite Position
145.960 MHz 435.240 MHz (Mem #1) AOS
145.960 MHz 435.245 MHz (Mem #2) Approaching
145.960 MHz 435.250 MHz (Mem #3) Passing
145.960 MHz 435.255 MHz (Mem #4) Departing
145.960 MHz 435.260 MHz (Mem #5) LOS

Note that the AFC on the receiver may be working hinting that making
the above adjustments may not be necessary. AMSAT VP of Engineering
Jerry Buxton N0JY states “… in ground testing with Fox-1A.  We
could be +/- 10 kHz and not even know it (that’s how it was tested,
one guy programmed the wrong frequency in his HT).”  He adds the
caveat,
“One station on the uplink is not the same situation as real life
though.”

Fox-1B Telemetry

Subaudible Telemetry
Except for a different downlink frequency, the low speed subaudible
telemetry will be the same as for AO-85. It will be supported by the
same FoxTelem software released for AO-85.

High Speed AFSK telemetry
There are no experiments on Fox-1B which will require the use of
high speed telemetry.

[ANS thanks “Getting Started With Amateur Satellites 2107” By G.
Gould Smith WA4SXM and Friends and other sources for the above
information.]

———————————————————————

Special AMSAT Membership Offer Celebrating RadFxSat/AO-91
Launch/Commissioning

As part of the preparations for the launch of RadFxSat on November
10th and the successful commissioning of AO-91 (RadFx/Fox-1B)opening
it for Amateur use on November 23, AMSAT is making our “Getting
Started With Amateur Satellites” book available for a limited time
as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via
the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases
completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite,
Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur
satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite
operation. The 182 page book is presented in PDF format, in full
color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham
radio satellite.

Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store
at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option.
While there, check out our other items, including the M2 LEOpack
antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag.

Thank you, and hear you soon on RadFxSat!

———————————————————————

FUNcube-1 Celebrates 4th Anniversary

November 21st 2017, marked the fourth aniversary for FUNcube-1 in
orbit.

FUNcube-1 was launched at 07:10 UTC on November 21st 2013 and its
first signals were received immediately after deployment over the
Indian Ocean by amateurs in South Africa. Since then it has been
operating continuously in either its education mode or, with the
transponder active, in amateur mode when in eclipse and at weekends.

The spacecraft has spent the four years in space orbiting the earth
at between 640 and 580 km and has now travelled around the earth more
than 20,000 times. That represents a distance travelled of
approaching 500 million miles.

Up to now, each of the orbits has been spilt approximately 65% in
sunlight and 35% in eclipse. This has resulted in the temperatures
inside the small spacecraft varying by about 25o C during each orbit.

During the recent AMSAT Colloquium, Wouter, PA3WEG, during his
presentation about the FUNcube project mentioned that the power
available from the solar panels has been slowly increasing since
launch. This observation led the team to do some further
investigations as to the cause.

Although the launch was into a nominally Sun Synchronous orbit, over
time this has drifted and the spacecraft is now entering a period
when it will be in the sun for longer periods during each orbit.

The exact details are still being determined, but it seems likely
that, starting from January 2018, there will be periods when the
spacecraft will be in the sun for all, or almost all, of its orbits.
Of course, this means that the on-board temperatures will be much
higher than we have previously experienced in flight, although we
have some test records from pre-flight thermal air testing that were
undertaken after integration.

The key will be to discover what the equilibrium temperature will be
internally. For comparison, AO85 has already “enjoyed” periods of
full sun and its internal temperatures have reached up to around 55o
C.

So the next few months will be quite an exciting time for the team!
We remain extremely grateful to everyone is using the spacecraft for
both its educational and amateur missions. Of course we are also very
very grateful to those who are downloading the telemetry and
uploading the data to the Data Warehouse. It continues to provide a
unique record of “life on board” a 1U CubeSat in space.

FUNcube-1 / AO-73 details

TLM down link freq 145.935 MHz BPSK

Transponder:
Nominal Uplink 435.150 – 435.130 MHz LSB (Inverting) The passband
may be up to 15kHz higher depending on on-board temps. Low
temperature gives higher freqs!
Downlink 145.950 – 145.970 MHz USB

Please use a maximium uplink power of 5 watts to a 7 dBi gain
antenna. More power is not needed to use the transponder!

Currently operating full power TLM beacon (300 mW) when in sunlight,
and Transponder, plus low power (30mW) TLM beacon when in eclipse.
Normally switches to Transponder over weekends and holidays

[ANS thanks Funcube.org for the above information]

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Video of Launches of the Currently Orbiting FUNcube Satellites

Wouter Weggelar, PA3WEG, released a composite video showing all
currently orbiting FUNcube family satellites being launched:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLevT3C5v6c&feature=youtu.be

[ANS thanks Wouter PA3WEG and AMSAT-UK for the above information]

———————————————————————

EcAMSat Deployed From ISS – 1200 baud Telemetry & QSL Card for Reports

The E. coli AntiMicrobial Satellite (EcAMSat) mission will investigate
space microgravity effects on the antibiotic resistance of E. coli, a
bacterial pathogen responsible for urinary tract infection in humans
and animals. EcAMSat is being developed through a partnership between
NASA’s Ames Research Center and the Stanford University School of
Medicine. Dr. A.C. Matin is the Stanford University Principal
Investigator.

EcAMSAT was deployed from the ISS on November 20, 2017.

EcAMSat will investigate spaceflight effects on bacterial antibiotic
resistance and its genetic basis. Bacterial antibiotic resistance may
pose a danger to astronauts in microgravity, where the immune response
is weakened. Scientists believe that the results of this experiment
could help design effective countermeasures to protect astronauts’
health during long-duration human space missions.

Operating at 437.100 MHz FM, the EcAMSat beacon sends an AX.25 packet
every 5 seconds, similar to the format of the GeneSat-1, PharmaSat,
O/OREOS, and SporeSat beacons; the packet contains data about the
spacecraft systems operation.

A tracking screen, mission information, and mission status are dis-
played on the EcAMSat Mission Dashboard: http://ecamsat.engr.scu.edu/
Links to beacon decoding and packet uploading instructions are also
included on the Dashboard.

An example of the EcAMSat QSL card is displayed at:
https://yc3bvg.blogspot.com/2017/11/ecamsat-qsl-cards.html

[ANS thanks the EcAMSat Team and NASA for the above information]

———————————————————————

MAI-75 SSTV Over Moscow from ISS Planned for December 6-8

The MAI-75 folks have scheduled some SSTV activity during specific
periods
each day from Dec 6-8. The times correlate to a small number of
passes each
day in range of Moscow.

Dec 6, 2017
Setup and power on –  13:40-14:20 UTC
Power off – 17:05-17:15 UTC

Dec 7, 2017
Power on –  13:45-13:55 UTC
Power off – 17:30-17:40 UTC

Dec 8, 2017
Power on –  14:05-14:15 UTC
Power off and stow – 17:00-17:10 UTC

See: https://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/

[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]

———————————————————————

UT1FG/MM Now Active

Yuri, UT1FG/MM, is back to sea on the Vessel Seahorse. It is
currently sailing from Algiers to Morocco where it will load cargo.
The plan is to sail to a USA port in the Gulf to be determined.

There are quite a few ships named Seahorse.  The MMSI number is
538007572.

Yuri is using the Elk antenna but only has RG58 coax feeding it.
Even so he reports working K3SZH on AO-7 today.  If he doesn’t find
coax in Morocco, perhaps we can get some coax to him when he arrives
in a USA port. So he is likely to do better on a Mode B satellite
rather than one with a UHF downlink.  He has keps for AO-91, AO-85
and CAS-4B.

Please wait for a while before sending your logsheets. He will
likely be able to mail qsl’s when he docks in the USA.

[ANS thanks John K8YSE for the above information]

———————————————————————

Support AMSAT on Cyber Monday

With Cyber Monday approaching, please keep AMSAT in mind while making
purchases on Amazon.com through AmazonSmile. AmazonSmile is a simple
way to support your favorite non-profit organizations, including
AMSAT. To get started, go to https://smile.amazon.com and designate
AMSAT as the recipient of a percentage of your purchases by selecting
“Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation.” After selecting AMSAT, and when
making purchases at Amazon, be sure to navigate to
https://smile.amazon.com.

[ANS thanks AMSAT Office for the above information]

———————————————————————

Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for 11-21-2017, Object Comment

Due to Thanksgiving being on Thursday, the AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
for this week will be today, November 21, 2017. Next week we will
continue with the normal TLE distribution on each Thursday of the
week. Note that, per comments below, AO-91 is most likely object 43016.

It appears that AO-91 is in the group of cubesats launched on 11-18-
17 that include objects 43016, 43017, and 43018. The object 43015
that we were using for AO-91 has separated enough to be confirmed as
Buccaneer RRM by 18th Space Control Squadron at Vandenburg AFB, CA.
One of 18 SPCS many missions is launch analysis.

Therefore, based analysis (by Nico Janssen, (PA0DLO) and discussion
by Alan Biddle (WA4SCA), Jerry Buxton (N0JY), Nico Janssen (PA0DLO),
Paul Stoetzer (N8HM) and myself AO-91 is most likely object 43016.
Note that these objects are still very close together and one more
change could be needed. The process of identification is one of
waiting for a group of objects to separate enough to isolate the one
you are interested in and positively identify it’s signal as matching
a certain TLE set. Simple, right!

For comparison, Buccaneer (object 43015, not AO-91) is now at least
26 seconds from objects 43016, 43017, and 43018.  Objects 43016,
43017, and 43018 are still about 2 seconds apart. (Analysis by
Nico,PA0DLO)

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad for the above information]

———————————————————————

[ANS thanks ******** for the above information]

———————————————————————

ARISS News

+ A Successful contact was made between I.C. Villasanta, Villasanta
Italy and College Pierre de Fermat, Toulouse, France
and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA using Callsign NA1SS. The
contact began Wed 2017-11-22 08:43:37 UTC and lasted about
nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via K6DUE.
ARISS Mentor was Gianpietro IZ2GOJ backed up by Joseph F6ICS.
Quantity of questions answered: 18
Quantity of people in attendance: approximatelt 200
Quantity of media present:  local newspapers

+ A Successful contact was made between I.C. “Pascoli Forgione”, San
Giovanni Rotondo, Italy and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA using
Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2017-11-15 11:36 UTC and lasted
about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via K6DUE.
ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF.

+ A Successful contact was made between Carmelita Manara, Milano,
Italy and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA using Callsign NA1SS. The
contact began 2017-11-15 11:36 UTC and lasted about nine and a half
minutes. Contact was telebridge via  K6DUE.
ARISS Mentor was Gianpietro IZ2GOJ.
Quantity of questions answered:  23
Quantity of people in attendance:  270
Quantity of media present:  Newspaper and TV
Additional information:  Raoul Nespoli (Paolo’s brother) was a
guest
at Milano.

+ A Successful contact was made between TX-801st Air Force JROTC at
Burleson High, Burleson, Texas, USA and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli
IZØJPA using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2017-11-13 14:50 UTC
and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge
via W6SRJ. ARISS Mentor was Keith W5IU.
Quantity of questions answered:  All 19
Quantity of people in attendance:  225
Quantity of media present:  local newspaper

+ A Successful contact was made between Liceo Scientifico “Valdemaro
Vecchi”, Trani, Italy and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA using
Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2017-11-11 11:16 UTC  and lasted
about nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via VK4KHZ.
ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF.
Quantity of questions answered:  14
Quantity of people in attendance:  about 200
Quantity of media present:  none reported

+ A Successful contact was made between I.I.S.S. “T.Fiore-C.Sylos”,
Terlizzi, Italy and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA using Callsign
NA1SS. The contact began 2017-11-11 11:16 UTC  and lasted about
nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via VK4KHZ.
ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF.
Quantity of questions answered:  14
Quantity of people in attendance:  about 200
Quantity of media present:  none reported

+ A Successful contact was made between Liceo Statale “Ilaria Alpi”,
Rutigliano, Italy from the University of Bari and Astronaut Paolo
Nespoli IZØJPA using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2017-11-11
11:16 UTC  and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was
telebridge via  VK4KHZ. ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF].
Quantity of questions answered:  14
Quantity of people in attendance:  about 200
Quantity of media present:  none reported

+ A Successful contact was made between South Florida Science Center
and Aquarium, West Palm Beach, FL, USA and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli
IZØJPA using Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2017-11-06 16:17 UTC
and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via
WS4FSC. ARISS Mentors were Steve W1HQL and Ryan W4NTR.
Quantity of questions answered:  All 12.
Quantity of people in attendance:  100
Quantity of media present:  TV and newspaper

+ A Successful contact was made between Istituto di Istruzione
Superiore “Leonardo Da Vinci”, Lanusei, Italy and Astronaut Paolo
Nespoli IZØJPA using Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began 2017-11-04
10:12 UTC  and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was
direct via ISØBWM and incorporated Ham TV.
ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF.

+ A Successful contact was made between Liceo Artistico Melotti,
Lomazzo, Italy and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA using Callsign
IR0ISS. The contact began 2017-11-03 09:27 UTC and lasted about
nine and a half minutes. Contact was telebridge via IQ5LI.
ARISS Mentor was [NAME, Gianpietro IZ2GOJ.
Quantity of questions answered:  15
Quantity of people in attendance:  300
Quantity of media present:  Local TV and newspapers

+ A Successful contact was made between Liceo Scientifico
‘Francesco Cecioni”, Livorno, Italy and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli
IZØJPA using Callsign IR0ISS. The contact began 2017-11-03 09:27
UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct
via IQ5LI and incorporated Ham TV.
ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF.
Quantity of questions answered:  15
Quantity of people in attendance:  300
Quantity of media present:  Local TV and newspapers.

+ A Successful contact was made between Asociación Civil Instituto
Maria Montessori, San Cristóbel, Venezuela and Joe Acaba KE5DAR
using Callsign IR0ISS. The contact began 2017-10-31 18:23 UTC and
lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via
YY2CMR. ARISS Mentor was Brian VE6JBJ.
Quantity of questions answered:  15
Quantity of people in attendance:  650
Quantity of media present: 44 press media representatives,
regional, national, and international
Additional information:  It was wonderful. The signal was 9+40dB.

+ A Successful contact was made between Primaria e Secondaria di
primo grado  Istituto comprensivo Via XVI settembre, Civitavecchia,
Italy and Astronaut Joe Acaba KE5DAR using Callsign NA1SS. The
contact began 2017-10-30 11:20 UTC and lasted about nine and a half
minutes. Contact was direct via IK0WGF and incorporated Ham TV.
ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF.
Quantity of questions answered:  16
Quantity of people in attendance:  About 200
Quantity of media present:  Video streaming was on BATC.TV
Additional information:  https://youtu.be/nhWL4xLroKU

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-11-22 07:00 UTC

I.C. Villasanta, Villasanta Italy and College Pierre de Fermat,
Toulouse, France, telebridge via K6DUE
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA
Contact is a go for: Wed 2017-11-22 08:43:37 UTC 45 deg K6DUE

Ashbury College, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, telebridge via VK4KHZ
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be  NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Joe Acaba KE5DAR
Contact is a go for: Mon  2017-11-27 18:39:58 UTC

Huntley Centennial Public School, Carp, ON, Canada, telebridge via
IK1SLD
The ISS callsign is presently  scheduled to be IRØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli
Contact  is a go for: Tue 2017-11-28 18:46:37 UTC

S.G.B. De La Salle,  Rome, Italy and Istituto Comprensivo Luigi
Nono, Mira, Italy, telebridge via  W6SRJ
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS
The scheduled  astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA
Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-11-30  08:04:20 UTC

Bishop Hendricken High School and its sister  school, St. Mary
Academy –
Bay View, Warwick, RI, telebridge via IK1SLD
The  ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS
The scheduled astronaut is  Paolo Nespoli
Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-11-30 17:02:09 UTC

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS
The  scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli
Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-11-30 17:02:09 UTC

[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above
information]

———————————————————————

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ EagleSat-1 Requests Help Listening for Beacon

RadFxSat-1/Fox-1B AO-91’s P-POD mate on the ELaNa XIV, EagleSat-1:
their team is having trouble hearing their beacon on 437.645MHz. The
beacon transmission timing is 1 minute. Please send reception
reports to Deborah Jackson (jacksd40 at my.erau.edu) and Steven Buck
(bucks2 at my.erau.edu) … via
[ANS thanks Jerry N0JY for the above information]

+ RSGB Space Posters

Several of @theRSGB posters promoting Amateur Radio feature Space
Communications. PDF Posters are available for free download from
http://tinyurl.com/ANS330-RSGB-Posters

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

+ New URL for Farnham WebSDR

The SUWS LF/VHF/UHF/uW WebSDR based at Farnham near London has a
new URL:  http://farnham-sdr.com/  The antennas on 2m and 70cm are
optimized for Satellite and High Altitude Balloon reception.

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

———————————————————————

/EX

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

Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.

73,
This week’s ANS Editor,
EMike McCardel, AA8EM
aa8em at amsat dot org
_______________________________________________
Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans

==//==//==//==

FUNcube family Launch Composite

+++

IK1SLD Ground Station HamTV – Oct. 30, 2017 – 11:20 UTC