日期：2017 年 10 月 15 日

Don’t Miss the Moon Hide the Bright Star Regulus Before Dawn Sunday!

Don’t Miss the Moon Hide the Bright Star Regulus Before Dawn Sunday!
By Joe Rao, Space.com Sky watching Columnist | October 14, 2017 07:00 am ET

Don't Miss the Moon Hide the Bright Star Regulus Before Dawn Sunday!

On Sunday, Oct. 15, the moon will temporarily block the bright star Regulus before dawn for observers in much of North America.

Credit: Starry Night Software

Sunday morning (Oct. 15) should get a big circle on your celestial calendar if you live nearly anywhere in the contiguous United States or southeast Canada. During the predawn hours, a waning crescent moon will temporarily hide the star Regulus in what’s known as an “occultation.” It’s the last good view of this event for North America until 2026!

The 1.4-magnitude star Regulus is known as the heart of the Lion in Leo. The star’s name is Latin for “little king.” It is also the only first-magnitude star to sit almost exactly on the ecliptic or sun’s yearly path in front of the constellations of the zodiac; it lies only 0.46 degrees from the ecliptic line.

As a consequence, Regulus can on occasion be hidden by the moon in an occultation, and early on Sunday morning just such a sight will be available for people living in most of the contiguous U.S. (except the Pacific Northwest and parts of the Northern Plains), as well as over a slice of southeast Canada and parts of the Maritime Provinces. Near and along the West Coast, Regulus will already be hidden behind the moon when it rises shortly after 2:30 a.m. PDT. [The Brightest Stars in the Night Sky]

A spectacular graze!

The northern limit of the visibility zone of the occultation begins over central Oregon and then tracks to the northeast through the middle of Idaho. Then it skims over portions of southern Montana and North Dakota and continues east-northeast through northern Minnesota, cutting straight through the Arrowhead region before heading out over Lake Superior.

Those who are located above or to the north of the visibility line will lose out, having to settle for a close approach of the moon to the star. Nonetheless, if your area is slated for a miss, go out and watch anyway. It’s breathtaking to watch a bright star “flying” so near to the moon!

A Google map depicting the graze path, courtesy of IOTA – International Occultation Timing Association – can be found here.

Upon close inspection of that Google map, you will see that the grazing occultation path is composed of three horizontal lines. The green line is the predicted limit if the moon were a perfect sphere. The upper and lower lines encompass the zone where the star will probably disappear and reappear more than once as it passes behind lunar hills and valleys — a spectacular grazing occultation! The path location is uncertain by probably less than a mile.

Since Regulus is so close to the ecliptic, detailed observations of its grazes have special value for improving knowledge of that part of the lunar profile needed for analysis of solar-eclipse observations. The center of the graze path passes very near to Billings, Montana, and Bismarck, North Dakota. The graze prediction is by Brad Timerson.

Watching and waiting

Occultations of Regulus happen in cycles of roughly nine years, and each cycle lasts about 18 months. The current cycle began last year on Dec. 18 and will come to an end on April 24, 2018. So each month, the moon will cross paths with Regulus, hiding it from view for various parts of the world.

And on Sunday, it will be our turn. And it’s the last good view for North America until 2026.

In some places, this event will be extraordinarily beautiful. But the quality of the view depends critically on where you are. The luckiest viewers are the ones in the zone from the south-central states to the Great Lakes. If you’re there, you will see the Earth-lit moon cover and uncover Regulus in a dark sky well above the horizon.

As the moon moves east against the background stars, the bright side of the slender waning crescent will first pass in front of Regulus, so lunar glare will prevent this from being a naked-eye event. But in a telescope, it should be spectacular.

As the occultation approaches, it will be interesting to compare the surface brightness of the star to that of the moon. Normally, the lunar landscape seems overwhelmingly brilliant, but compared to the star, it’s a dull yellow. The better the seeing, the smaller the star will appear and the more intense this effect will be.

Regulus looks like a blazing blue diamond hovering above the day-lit desert of the moon. Whether it can be seen at all, this is definitely a show worth setting your alarm clock for.

The star will then reappear up to 70 minutes later, depending on your location, from behind the “dark” part of the moon, which likely will be dimly illuminated by earthshine. Of all the things that happen on the celestial sphere, an occultation is one of the most dramatic and perhaps the most abrupt.

If the Regulus reappearance is predicted to occur at least a few degrees above the eastern horizon in early twilight or darkness at your site, you’ll need no equipment at all. Just keep gazing steadily, so you won’t miss the instant the star dramatically “pops” back into view.

For those who are situated in the eastern U.S. and southeast Canada, the reappearance of Regulus will take place during morning twilight. The closer you are to the Atlantic seaboard, the closer the reappearance will come to sunrise — hence, the brighter the sky.

The disappearance and reappearance will be best-viewed in binoculars or a small telescope. They may be essential if the moon and star are very near the horizon and dimmed by a low-lying layer of haze. Binoculars should be on a tripod or some other steady mount.

An occultation timetable

Here is a listing of 15 selected cities providing local times of when Regulus will wink out behind the bright lunar crescent and reappear from behind the dark lunar limb.

LOCAL CIRCUMSTANCES FOR THE OCCULATION,
OF REGULUS,
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2017
Location Disappears Reappears
San Francisco Before moonrise 3:11 a.m.
Los Angeles, Calif. Before moonrise 3:12 a.m.
Tucson, Ariz. Before moonrise 3:14 a.m.
Denver, Colo. 3:31 a.m. 4:15 a.m.
Austin, Texas 4:18 a.m. 5:19 a.m.
New Orleans, La. 4:20 a.m. 5:25 a.m.
Kansas, City, Mo. 4:29 a.m. 5:22 a.m.
Chicago, Ill. 4:37 a.m. 5:27 a.m.
Atlanta, Ga. 5:25 a.m. 6:33 a.m.
Miami, Fla. 5:25 a.m. 6:33 a.m.*
Washington, D.C. 5:37 a.m. 6:41 a.m.*
New York 5:44 a.m. 6:43 a.m.*
Toronto, Ontario 5:47 a.m. 6:32 a.m.*
Boston 5:50 a.m. 6:44 a.m.*
Montreal, Quebec 5:57 a.m. 6:37 a.m.*

* Denotes morning twilight has begun.

You can also visit this website to find out the occultation times for many hundreds of localities in Universal Time (UT). Remember to convert Universal Time to your local time: Eastern Daylight Time = UT minus 4 hours; Central Daylight Time = UT minus 5 hours; Mountain Daylight Time = UT minus 6 hours; Pacific Daylight Time = UT minus 7 hours.

Star party, anyone?

Despite the very early hour, you might want to consider inviting members of your family or even your neighbors to join you in watching this interesting demonstration of the machinery of the solar system. Who knows? This occultation might make a great impression on them — weather and observing conditions permitting, of course.

You can explain to them that Regulus is a blue star 4.5 times bigger than (and 160 times brighter than) the sun, and that the starlight they are seeing now actually started on its journey toward Earth some 85 years ago.

For comparison, the moon is only 1.25 light-seconds distant.

If you pass on Sunday’s opportunity and plan to wait out the next occultation of Regulus that favors the United States and Canada, you’re going to have a rather long wait: It will be during the late-night hours of Feb. 2, 2026, and it will involve a bright, waning gibbous moon.

Editor’s note: If you have an amazing night-sky photo you’d like to share with us and our news partners for a possible story or image gallery, send images and comments in to spacephotos@space.com.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmers’ Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for Fios1 News in Rye Brook, NY. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.

EDITOR’S RECOMMENDATIONS

Sputnik 1! 7 Fun Facts About Humanity’s First Satellite

Sputnik 1! 7 Fun Facts About Humanity’s First Satellite
By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer | October 2, 2017 06:20pm ET

Photo Credit: vitazheltyakov, CC BY-NC-ND
Slide 1 of 15

 

Introduction

The first-ever artificial satellite took to the skies on Oct. 4, 1957.

The launch of that craft, the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1, kicked off the space age and the Cold War space race, the latter of which peaked when Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the surface of the moon in July 1969.

Here are a few fun facts you may not know about Sputnik 1 and its brief but world-changing mission.  [Sputnik 1, Earth’s First Artificial Satellite (Photos)]

Sputnik 1 was the size of a beach ball

Sputnik 1 weighed 184 lbs. (83 kilograms) and was 23 inches (58 centimeters) wide. (This measure refers to the satellite’s body; Sputnik 1 also featured two double-barreled antennas, the larger of which was 12.8 feet, or 3.9 meters, long.)

So, the satellite was quite small compared to the spacecraft of today, such as NASA’s Cassini Saturn orbiter, which was about the size of a school bus. But lofting something as heavy as Sputnik 1 was quite a feat in October 1957. Two months later, the United States tried to launch its first satellite — the 3.5-lb. (1.6 kg) Vanguard Test Vehicle 3 (TV3) — and failed.

The Soviet Union had been aiming bigger

Soviet space officials had wanted the nation’s first satellite to be much bigger than a beach ball. The original plan called for lofting a nearly 3,000-lb. (1,400 kg) craft outfitted with a variety of scientific instruments.

But development of this satellite, code-named “Object D,” progressed more slowly than expected, and Soviet officials grew increasingly worried that the United States might beat them to space. So, they decided to precede the launch of Object D with a “simplest satellite,” or “prosteishy sputnik” in Russian. Indeed, Sputnik 1 was also known as PS-1, Anatoly Zak noted at RussianSpaceWeb.com. (The literal translation of “sputnik,” by the way, is “traveling companion.”)

Sputnik 1 carried no scientific instruments. However, researchers did learn some things about Earth’s atmosphere by studying the beep-beep-beep radio signals emitted by the satellite.

The hulking Object D reached orbit as Sputnik 3 in May 1958, six months after Sputnik 2, which famously lofted a dog named Laika.

Sputnik 1 came perilously close to suffering the same fate as the United States’ TV3 satellite, which was destroyed in a launch failure on Dec. 6, 1957.

Sputnik 1 was lofted by an R-7 rocket, which consisted of four first-stage boosters — known as Blocks B, V, G and D — strapped onto a core second stage (Block A). During the launch, the Block G booster’s main engine reached its intended thrust levels later than expected.

“As a result, 6.5 seconds after the launch, the rocket started to pitch, deviating around 1 degree from the nominal trajectory 8 seconds after the liftoff,” Zak wrote. “In the effort to correct the increasing pitch angle, steering engines No. 2 and [No.] 4 on the core stage rotated as much as 8 degrees; similar engines on strap-on boosters of Block V and D rotated as much as 17-18 degrees, while tail air rudders rotated 10 degrees.

“Only a split second remained, after which the flight control system would terminate the flight of the underpowered rocket,” he added. “Fortunately, the engine finally reached normal performance, and [the] rocket fully returned to nominal trajectory some 18-20 seconds after the liftoff.”

Sputnik 1 eventually settled into an elliptical orbit, which took the satellite as close to Earth’s surface as 142 miles (228 kilometers) and as far away as 588 miles (947 km). The satellite zipped around Earth every 96 minutes.

Its mission was brief

Sputnik 1 was powered by three silver-zinc batteries, which were designed to operate for two weeks. The batteries exceeded expectations, as the satellite continued sending out its radio signal for 22 days.

The spacecraft continued lapping Earth in silence for a few more months, its orbit decaying and sending the craft steadily closer to the planet. The satellite finally burned up in the atmosphere on Jan. 4, 1958.

Photo Credit: Robert W. Kelley/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty

Most Sputnik spotters actually saw its rocket

Though Sputnik 1 was small, it was quite reflective and therefore visible from Earth through a pair of binoculars (and perhaps even with the naked eye, if you had good vision and knew exactly where to look).

Many people reported seeing the satellite overhead in late 1957, but experts think most of these sightings actually involved the R-7. The rocket’s 85-foot-long (26 m) core stage also reached orbit, and it was covered with reflective panels to make tracking it easier. This rocket body fell back to Earth on Dec. 2, 1957, according to Zak.

Sputnik 1 led to the creation of NASA and DARPA

The launch of Sputnik 1 famously shook the United States.

“As a technical achievement, Sputnik caught the world’s attention and the American public off guard,” NASA historians wrote in 2007, in a piece marking the milestone’s 50-year anniversary. “Its size was more impressive than Vanguard’s intended 3.5-lb. payload. In addition, the public feared that the Soviets’ ability to launch satellites also translated into the capability to launch ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear weapons from Europe to the U.S.”

Such worries didn’t dissipate after the U.S. launched its first successful satellite, Explorer 1, on Jan. 31, 1958. American officials took several measures to boost the nation’s technological capabilities. These included creating the Advanced Research Projects Agency (later renamed the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA) in February 1958 and NASA in October of that year. (NASA’s precursor organization, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, had been around since 1915.)

The satellite inspired the world ‘beatnik’

Sputnik 1’s huge cultural impact can be seen in the spate of “nik” neologisms its launch spurred, a few of which remain in use today. “Peacenik” is one well-known example, but the most famous is undoubtedly “beatnik,” which San Francisco newspaper columnist Herb Caen coined in 1958. (And beatnik, in turn, sparked another coinage — “neatnik.”)

Though Sputnik 1 raised “nik” to prominence in the U.S., the launch didn’t actually introduce the suffix — which is roughly equivalent to “er” in English — into the American lexicon; select Russian and Yiddish words had already done that. The term “no-goodnik,” for example, has been around since at least 1936, according to Merriam-Webster.com.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+.

[ans] ANS-288 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

[ans] ANS-288 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins2017-10-15 8:03 GMT+08:00 JoAnne K9JKM <k9jkm@comcast.net>:

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-288

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:

* 2017 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting is Coming Soon!
* NASA JPSS-1 and ELaNa XIV/RadFxSat/Fox-1B Launch Briefings and Events
* Scientific American Magazine Interviews KD2BHC
* FalconSAT-3 Operating Guides Posted
* WSJT-X FT8 QSO Confirmed Between W2JAZ and W5RKN on FO-29
* Announcing the 2017-18 European Astro Pi Challenge
* U.K. OFCOM Satellite Regulation Workshop
* Send Your Name to Mars – Earn NASA ‘Frequent Flier’ Points
* Satellite DX Updates
* Satellite News From South Africa
* HamVideo Active for ARISS Italian School Contacts on October 20
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-288.01
ANS-288 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 288.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE October 15, 2017
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-288.01

2017 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting is Coming Soon!

The 2017 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium and Annual Meeting, October 27-29,
at the Silver Legacy Resort Hotel, Reno, NV.

Please note that you CANNOT register for the AMSAT Banquet Dinner
at the door.  You MUST preregister at the AMSAT store by Friday,
October 20, 2017.

The last day to register online at the Silver Legacy with the
guaranteed rate closed on Friday, October 13, 2017.

The last day to reserve a seat at the Area Coordinators Breakfast is
Wednesday, October 25, 2017.

If you miss the Registration Deadline, you may still show up at the
door and pay $55. There will be no late orders for the Banquet or
Breakfast as this has to do with the rooms and tables necessary.

Complete Your Symposium Registration in the AMSAT Store
——————————————————-
You can register for the 2017 Space Symposium, the Saturday Evening
Banquet, the Sunday Morning Area Coordinators breakfast, the Sunday
afternoon tour to Virginia City, and the Monday tour to Lake Tahoe
in the AMSAT store: https://www.amsat.org/shop/

Symposium Registration (including a copy of the Proceedings)
+ Starting September 15 — $50
+ At the door           — $55

2017 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium Schedule Posted
———————————————
The Schedule for the 2017 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium and
Annual Meeting, October 27-29, 2017 at the Silver Legacy Resort
Hotel, Reno, NV.

Check the Symposium Web Page for updates and new information as it
becomes available: https://www.amsat.org/symposium-schedule/

2017 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium Tours
———————————–
The 2017 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday, Oct 27-29 in Reno.  There will be two tours of the sights
around Reno offered after the Symposium ends on Sunday morning.

A description of the tours has been posted at
https://www.amsat.org/symposium-tours/

Complete tour information is available by paging through each tour
description and a link to purchase the tour through the AMSAT Store
is provided below the description. You may also purchase all
Symposium events at the AMSAT Store.
https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-symposium/

[ANS thanks the 2017 AMSAT-NA Symposium Committee for the above
information]

———————————————————————

NASA JPSS-1 and ELaNa XIV/RadFxSat/Fox-1B Launch Briefings and Events

AMSAT RadFxSat/Fox-1B will be launched as a passenger on NASA’s ELaNa
XIV mission. The primary payload for this flight is the Joint Polar
Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1), the first in a new series of four highly
advanced NOAA polar-orbiting satellites, which will help increase weather
forecast accuracy from three to seven days out.

JPSS-1 and ELaNa XIV (including RadFxSat/Fox-1B) is scheduled to launch
on Friday, Nov. 10, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Liftoff
aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch
Complex 2 is targeted for 1:47 a.m. PT (4:47 a.m. ET, 9:47 am UTC) at the
opening of a 65-second launch window. Launch coverage will begin on NASA
Television and the agency’s website at 1:15 a.m. PT.

Visit the NASA JPSS-1 Briefings and Events page for a full description
of the JPSS-1 mission and a timeline of press and launch events:
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/jpss-1-briefings-and-events

The ELaNa missions generally get discussed on the L-2 Day Prelaunch
News Conference and Science Briefing followed by CubeSat owner inter-
views.

As AMSAT approaches the launch of RadFxSat/Fox-1B, Jerry Buxton, NØJY,
Vice-President Engineering, compiled a playlist of the streaming and
recorded videos he made as we went through the final testing and qual-
ification of the flight model: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-288-Fox1B-YouTube

On a related topic the next AMSAT-NA CubeSat of the Fox Team is Fox-1Cliff.
Here are links to videos showing Fox-1Cliff’s “ride”:
http://tinyurl.com/ANS-288-Spaceflight-Video-1
http://tinyurl.com/ANS-288-Spaceflight-Video-2

[ANS thanks AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, NØJY, for the
above information]

———————————————————————

Scientific American Magazine Interviews KD2BHC

Scientific American magazine interviews radio amateur Zac Manchester,
KD2BHC in the article Breakthrough Sends Smallest-Ever Satellites into
Orbit.

On June 23, 2017 six tiny satellites were sent into low-Earth orbit
as secondary payloads on the Venta and Max Valier satelites that were
launched on the Indian PSLV-C38 rocket. These six satellites are
comparatively dainty, but punch far above their weight. Called “Sprites,”
each is a 4-gram flake of circuit-board just 3.5 centimeters on a side,
packing solar panels, computers, sensors and communications equipment
into an area equal to a U.S. postage stamp.

One Sprite apiece is attached to the outside of each mothership — the
Latvian Venta satellite and the Italian Max Valier satellite, the
latter of which also holds four additional Sprites awaiting deployment
into space as wholly independent spacecraft. Radio telemetry from minu-
scule magnetometers and gyroscopes on the deployed Sprites would then
be used to track the spacecraft as they shift, spin and tumble, to
better understand their orbital dynamics.

Signals on 437.325 MHz from at least one of the exterior-mounted Sprites
have been received in California and New York.

Read the Scientific American article at
http://tinyurl.com/ANS-288-ScientificAmerican
AMSAT-UK covers the interview at
https://amsat-uk.org/2017/07/26/sprite-satellites-deployed/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

———————————————————————

FalconSAT-3 Operating Guides Posted

As previously announced in the ANS-267 bulletins the Air Force
Academy satellite FalconSAT-3 is now open for amateur radio use
as a digital store-and-forward system.

FalconSAT-3’s payload includes a packet bulletin board system
plus digipeating is enabled for live QSOs (unattended
digipeating operations is not authorized at this time).

Uplink:   145.840 MHz FM 9600 baud
Downlink: 435.103 MHz FM 9600 baud – 1 watt

Current Keplerian elements can be found in the set distributed
by AMSAT. More information can be found at:
https://www.amsat.org/falconsat-3/

Tony, K2MO reported that the current UZ7HO soundmodem with the
Wisp setup seems to be working with FalconSAT-3. This configur-
ation consists of the full-duplex version of Soundmodem and
HW-VSP-3. The software can be downloaded from these links:

HW VSP-3: http://www.hw-group.com/products/hw_vsp/index_en.html
UZ7HO HS Soundmodem v0.19: http://uz7.ho.ua/packetradio.htm
Wisp for Windows: https://www.amsat.org/falconsat-3/

Tony put together a quick start guide video for those interested
in running Wisp with VSP and a soundcard modem. The video is
intended to be a self-explanatory demonstration to get started
with FalconSAT-3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ahlA-bRb5A

Watch for updates posted on amsat-bb as Tony continues his exper-
imentation and refinement of techniques and technology to operate
on FalconSAT-3.

[ANS thanks AMSAT Vice President Operations, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA
for the FalconSAT-3 information and Tony, K2MO for the software
description]

———————————————————————

WSJT-X FT8 QSO Confirmed Between W2JAZ and W5RKN on FO-29

Ron, W5RKN and Rick, W2JAZ described their experiments in using the
new, shortened TX/RX sequences, weak signal protocol, FT8, to deter-
mine if this mode could be used on satellites. FT8 is operationally
similar to the older protocols but four times faster (15-second T/R
sequences) and less sensitive by a few dB.

Ron posited it might work near AOS or LOS where the Doppler correct-
ions are small. Ron’s configuration was made up of a Flex-6500 with
two DEMI transverters running SmartSDR, SatPC32, FlexSATPC, and WSJT-X.
Rick’s is a Flex-5000 with U/V module, running PowerSDR, SatPC32,
FlexSATPC, and WSJT-X.

Ron described the test, “After a couple runs on AO-7 without success,
we tried again tonight on the 0220Z (14 Oct) pass of FO-29. I started
out at my AOS calling CQ W5RKN EM10. After several transmissions without
success, the reply W5RKN W2JAZ FN29 popped up on the screen. Then
followed the usual signal report, RRR and 73 transmissions.”

Rick and Ron are interested in hearing about other’s experiences
with WSJT-X contacts.

[ANS thanks Ron, W5RKN for the above information]

———————————————————————

Announcing the 2017-18 European Astro Pi Challenge

Astro Pi is back! Today we’re excited to announce the 2017-18
European Astro Pi challenge in partnership with the European
Space Agency (ESA). We are searching for the next generation
of space scientists.

Astro Pi is an annual science and coding challenge where student-
written code is run on the International Space Station under the
oversight of an ESA astronaut. It is open to students from all
22 ESA member countries, including — for the first time — asso-
ciate members Canada and Slovenia.

Watch the announcement video at:
https://youtu.be/yjll_4JY98g

This year’s challenge includes a brand-new non-competitive mission,
in which participants are guaranteed to have their code run on the
ISS for 30 seconds!

MISSION ZERO

For teachers and students who are keen to take part but who don’t
have the capacity to carry out an in-depth project, we wanted to
provide an accessible activity that teams can complete in just
one session.

So we came up with Mission Zero for young people no older than 14.
To complete it, form a team of two to four people and use our step-
by-step guide to help you write a simple Python program that shows
your personal message and the ambient temperature on the Astro Pi.
If you adhere to a few rules, your code is guaranteed to run in
space for 30 seconds, and you’ll receive a certificate showing the
exact time period during which your code has run in space. No special
hardware is needed for this mission, since everything is done in a
web browser. Mission Zero is open until 26 November 2017!

MISSION SPACE LAB

Students aged up to 19 can take part in Mission Space Lab. Form a
team of two to six people, and work like real space scientists to
design your own experiment. Receive free kit to work with, and write
the Python code to carry out your experiment.

There are two themes for Mission Space Lab teams to choose from
for their projects:

Life in space
————–
+ You will make use of Astro Pi Vis (“Ed”) in the European Columbus
module. You can use all of its sensors, but you cannot record images
or videos.

Life on Earth
————-
+ You will make use of Astro Pi IR (“Izzy”), which will be aimed
towards the Earth through a window. You can use all of its
sensors and its camera.

The Astro Pi kit, delivered to Space Lab teams by ESA. If you achieve
flight status, your code will be uploaded to the ISS and run for three
hours (two orbits). All the data that your code records in space will
be downloaded and returned to you for analysis. Then submit a short
report on your findings to be in with a chance to win exclusive,
money-can’t-buy prizes! You can also submit your project for a Bronze
CREST Award.

Mission Space Lab registration is open until 29 October 2017, and
accepted teams will continue to spring 2018.

To find out more and get started visit the Astro-Pi web page:
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/announcing-2017-18-astro-pi/

[ANS thanks raspberrypi.org for the above information]

———————————————————————

U.K. OFCOM Satellite Regulation Workshop

For satellite builders in the U.K. OFCOM is running a workshop
on Satellite Regulation on Friday 3rd November in conjunction
with the UK Space Agency.

The workshop is a one day introduction to the regulations you
need to know about to get your satellite project off the ground.
Which regulations apply to satellites and why? Who regulates what?
How to engage with regulators and how they can help you … plus
step-by-step guidance on what to do when.

Topics covered:
+ Spectrum licensing for satellite earth stations
+ Making a satellite filing to get your satellite’s
spectrum use internationally recognised
+ Licensing your satellite under the Outer Space Act

OFCOM would be very keen to encourage universities either teaching
satellite regulation as part of their courses or building cubesats
within their research teams to participate in this session. The
event is free to attend and will be held at OFCOM’s offices in
London and there will also be time for one-to-one meetings.

An informational flyer can be downloaded here:
http://tinyurl.com/ANS-288-Ofcom-meeting
Email satellite.event@ofcom.org.uk to register your interest.

[ANS thanks the U.K. CubeSat Forum and U.K. OFCOM for the above
information]

———————————————————————

Send Your Name to Mars – Earn NASA ‘Frequent Flier’ Points

NASA is offering the public an opportunity to send your name to Mars
on a chip aboard the InSight Mars landing mission currently scheduled
for 2018.

To submit your name and sign up visit:
https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/insight/
Last Day to Submit: November 1, 2017 (11:59 p.m. ET)

Launch May 2018
Landing November 2018

A related story on Marsdaily.com describes the frequent flier program plus
more information about the InSight mission:
http://tinyurl.com/ANS-288-MarsDaily

When it lands on Mars in November of 2018, NASA’s InSight lander will be
carrying several science instruments – along with hundreds of thousands
of names from members of the public.

This fly-your-name opportunity comes with “frequent flier” points
reflecting an individual’s personal participation in NASA’s exploration
of Mars. These points span multiple missions and multiple decades.
Participants who sent their names on the previous InSight opportunity
in 2015 can download a “boarding pass” and see their “frequent flier”
miles.

As part of this frequent flier program, a chip carrying the names of 1.38
million people also flew aboard the first flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft
in 2014. NASA is building Orion to carry astronauts to deep space
destinations that will enable future missions to Mars.

After InSight, the next opportunity to earn frequent flier points will be
NASA’s Exploration Mission-1, the first flight bringing together the Space
Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to travel thousands of miles
beyond the Moon in preparation for human missions to Mars and beyond.

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

———————————————————————

Satellite DX Updates

5K0, SAN ANDRES ISLAND (Update). Members of the Grupo Yaguarete DX, who
postponed their DXpedition (which was scheduled between October and
November) to Sint Martin due to the extreme damage by hurricane Irma,
have now re-scheduled to be active as 5K0T from San Andres Island (NA-033)
between November 12-26th. Operators mentioned are Joe/LU1FM (Team Leader),
Dan/LU9FHF, Andy/LU2JCW, Wally/LU3FMD, Fer/LU6FOV and Bob/KK6EK. Activity
will be on 160-10 meters, using CW, SSB, Digital modes (PSK31 and FT8)
and the Satellites. They plan to have 3 HF stations and one satellite
station on the air. Complete list of equipment is available on QRZ.com.
QSL via LU1FM. The 5K0T DXpedition will be officially supported by the
Cordell Expedition’s DXA3 logging system <www.dxa3.org>. For more details
and updates, see:       http://tarjetasqsl.com.ar/5k0t/index.html

HC8, GALAPAGOS ISLANDS (Update). An Argentinian group will be active as
HC8LU from San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos Islands between November
29th and December 8th. Operators mentioned are Alejandro/LU8YD, Alejandro/
LU9VEA, Mario/LU7VB and Patricio/LU3YK. Pilot stations are Sergio/LU7YS
and Javier/LU5FF. Activity will be on 160-10 meters using mainly SSB and
the Digital modes (WSPR, JT65, FT8, PSK31). There will also operations on
the satellites (LEO, FM and SSB). Their stations: 2x IC-7000 and home-made
5 elements VHF and 7 elements UHF antennas. QSL via IK2DUW. Visit their
Blog page for updates, at:        https://hc8lu.blogspot.com.ar
Any donations are greatly appreciated. Paypal accounts:
lu8ydnenquen@hotmail.com
hc8lu.2017@gmail.com

PJ4, BONAIRE (Satellite Op). David, NA2AA, will be operating as PJ4/NA2AA
from Bonaire between October 22nd and November 3rd. It is believed this
is the first satellite operation from Bonaire since it became a new DXCC
country on 10/10/2010. The operation will be from PJ4G, Radio Mountain
Bonaire, located in grid FK52tf. He will be very active with emphasis
on the linear satellites FO-29 and the XW-2 s. QSL to PJ4/NA2AA via LoTW.

[ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1333 for the above information]

———————————————————————

Satellite News From South Africa

1. AMSATSA On-Target for October 21 BACAR Test Flight

AMSATSA continued work this past week with integration of the various
modules including the on-board computer and the transponder being
integrated into the space frame. No solar panels will be flown as a
precautionary measure as solar panels are expensive and could be
severely damaged on the landing. Kletskous will be powered by a
battery for this test flight.

Uplink:   435.145 MHz NBFM
Downlink: 145.870 MHz NBFM
Maximum uplink power is 5 watt EIRP.
DO NOT USE HIGHER POWER

The BACAR balloon flight with the Kletskous transponder is scheduled to
be launched on 21 October 2017 at 09:00 from an airfield near Secunda.

Kletskous is a crowd funded project. Please become part of the project
by donating to the Kletskous fund. Details and regular updates can be
found on www.amsatsa.org.za. All donors are acknowledged on the website.

Another interesting payload on BACAR is a XinaBox (pronounce X-in-a-box)
satellite. XinaBox is a rapid IoT and electronics development solution,
without the requirement of soldering, wiring or other hardware knowledge
… just coding! Ben Dixon, one of the developers of the XINABOX system
hails from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and joined MEDO
Space to assist with their STEM programme. This led to the development
of XinaBox. Ben and his team have been flying projects on party balloons
reaching somewhere around 8000 metres but on 21 October 2017 they will
take their project to near space with BACAR 5 arranged by the Secunda
Amateur Radio Club.

The core of the satellite is the CR03 Lora Radio operating on 915 MHz.
It is also equipped with a CPU to handle all the communication and runs
the flight software. The module is based around the RFM96W chip trans-
ceiver featuring the LoRa TM providing ultra-long range spread spectrum
communication. The CR03 is connected with a PB04, a smart battery solu-
tion which will also measure the battery voltage and current. A number
of other sensors will be included in the array. The SWO-1, which is
based on the BME28, measures temperature, humidity and pressure. Other
sensors measure UVA, UVB and acceleration. On the ground the XinaBox
team will be using a CW01 module, a Wi-Fi processor which will be
handling all the data and write the information to a kibana server.

2. SDR Workshop in Cape Town

AMSAT SA will be holding a SDR workshop in Cape Town at the Cape
Peninsula University of Technology Bellville campus on Saturday 4 Nov-
ember 2017. Booking for this event has opened. For details and a book-
ing form visit www.amsatsa.org.za. The programme features a description
of the software employed together with a walk through of the installa-
tion process on a PC or a laptop. Applications, such as general signal
reception and the download and display of weather satellite data on the
PC will be discussed.

A VHF dongle and a memory stick with software can be ordered on the book-
ing form. All orders will only be available at the workshop and no deliv-
ery by post is available. The closing date for bookings and payment is
27 October 2017.

The SDR workshop in Johannesburg will be held on 18 November at the
National Amateur Radio Centre. Full details will be available during
next week. Both workshops are presented by AMSAT SA in cooperation with
the South African Radio League. Members of both organisation will enjoy
member discounts.

[ANS thanks the SARL weekly news in English 2017-10-7 for the above
information]

———————————————————————

HamVideo Active for ARISS Italian School Contacts on October 21

Daniel Cussen, EI9FHB says the HamVideo aboard the ISS is planned to
be active for these school contacts on October 20:

“A.Gramsci-N.Pende”, Noicattaro,  Italy and Istituto Comprensivo
“Tauro – Viterbo”, Castellana Grotte (Ba), Italy  direct via IZ7RTN
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be  IRØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA
Contact is a go for: Sat 2017-10-21 14:23:14 UTC 86 deg

Istituto Scolastico Comprensivo “Nardi”, Porto San Giorgio, Italy and
I.C. Michelangelo Buonarroti,  Marina di Carrara,  Italy
direct via I6KZR and IQ5VR.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled  to be IRØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA
Contact is a go for: Sat 2017-10-21 09:31:20 UTC 41 deg

Note there may be other ‘surprise’ HAMTV events from time to time,
during other ARISS school contacts. The radio in use for ARISS school
contacts is on a case by case basis, and if the handheld radio is
used, then HAMTV may be used with little warning. There was an extra
HAMTV event with the ARISS meeting in Rome this past week.

HamVideo operational status aboard the ISS can be found at:
http://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/

Ham Video downlink frequencies:
+ 2369 MHz
+ 2395 MHz
+ 2422 MHz
+ 2437 MHz
DVB-S modulation; Symbol rates: 1.3 Ms/s and 2.0 Ms/s
FEC : 1/2; NTSC format (SIF: 352×240 or D1:720×480)

[ANS thanks Daniel Cussen, EI9FHB and ARISS for the above information]

———————————————————————

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Reminder – November 15 deadline! The Amateur Radio on the Inter-
national Space Station (ARISS) program is seeking proposals from
U.S. schools, museums, science centers and community youth organ-
izations to host radio contacts with an orbiting crew member aboard
the International Space Station (ISS) between July 1 and
December 31, 2018. See ARISS website for additional details on
expectations, proposal guidelines, and the proposal form:
http://www.ariss.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact-in-the-us.html

+ Sally Ride EarthKAM @ Space Camp’s 59th Mission is open for
registration. This be will EarthKAM’s 59th week-long mission
and the fourth of 2017! Mission 59 runs October 31 through
November 4. Mission sign up is available and orbits will be
published by Thursday, October 26. Educators can sign up and
get their class involved up to the day of the orbit. Requested
images should be available within 24 hours of the orbit. If
you are looking for a project to do with the images, look at
our activities page for some great ideas that incorporate the
images. See: https://www.earthkam.org/ and the EarthKAM user
Guide:
https://www.earthkam.org/files/pdf/ISS_EarthKAM_User_Guide.pdf

+ AMSAT-UK tweeted that the RSGB video interviews of participants
in the YOTA 2017 event show how amateur satellite communications
feature in The Future of Amateur Radio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNKNcaNpG1I

+ ARISS International is holding their Face to Face Meeting at the
ESA Centre for Earth Observation or ESRIN in Frascati, a small
town 20 km south of Rome. (via ARISS Facebook group)

+ Congratulations to Bob Liddy, K8BL for achieving VUCC Satellite
as a roving station. Bob wrote on amsat-bb, “After 6+ years of
casual Roving, I finally made it to VUCC-R Satellite! My friend
John, K8YSE, who got me started on this, was the QSO that put me
at grid #100 when he called me on SO50 yesterday at the EN72/73
line. Thanks to John and everyone else that put me in their
log on SATs to reach this goal. More to come since my joy is to
give ‘new ones’ to fellow SAT Ops”.

+ NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter – with support from NASA’s Solar
System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) and the Lunar
and Planetary Institute – are sponsoring an International Observe the
Moon Night (InOMN) on October 28, 2017. Go to the InOMN website to
find information about how to host, register, and evaluate your InOMN
event, look for an InOMN event near you, and share pictures and high-
lights from InOMN: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/observe_the_moon_night/

+ Congratulations to Mac Cody, AE5PH on his successful satellite
presentation and live operating demo at the Richardson Wireless Klub
on October 9. He had at least forty attendees and about half of them
stayed for the live demo. Stations contacted included Fernando NP4JV,
Glenn AA5PK, Jim K5ND, Bert XE1HG, Christy KB6LTY, Edward KK9EJ,
Matthew KG5HVL, John K8YSE, Jerry N0JY, and Virgilio HP2VX. Working
EN60 also netted a new grid.

+ AMSAT-UK says recordings of all talks from the 2017 Colloquium,
October 14-15 will be posted on the AMSAT-UK YouTube Channel after
the event at: https://www.youtube.com/user/AMSATUK

+ The DXWatch Blog posted an article, “Satellites: A New Horizon for
DXpeditions” at:
https://dxwatch.com/blog/satellites-new-horizon-dxpeditions

+ The International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 VHF-UHF-μW Newsletter
is available for free download. The newsletter covers the recommend-
ations affecting the VHF and higher bands from the IARU-R1 General
Conference in Landshut.
The VHF-UHF-μW Newsletter 74 is at:
http://www.iaru-r1.org/imag…/…/newsletters/Newsletter_74.pdf
Previous editions are at:
http://www.iaru-r1.org/index.php/vhfuhsshf/newsletters

+ The Ham Talk Live! show which is streamed on Thursday night at
9 pm Eastern is also available for download as a podcast. This
week Ham Talk Live interviewed Ken Goodwin, K5RG about the 50th
Anniversary of the NASA Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club
W5RRR and their Special Event station. You can listen on demand
24/7/365.25 at www.hamtalklive.com; or a podcast version is on
Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, SoundCloud, and iHeart
Podcasts; and it’s also available on YouTube.

———————————————————————

/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. And, with that consider the tale of the scarecrow who
got promoted because he was outstanding in his field.

73,
This week’s ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
k9jkm at amsat dot org

_______________________________________________
Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans