[ans] ANS-302 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

[ans] ANS-302 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: E.Mike McCardel <mccardelm@gmail.com>
Date: 2017-10-29 20:45 GMT+08:00
Subject: [ans] ANS-302 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
To: ans@amsat.org

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-302The 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:

* AMSAT-NA Announces GOLF CubeSat Program
* AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Elects Joe Spier, K6WAO, President
* Jordan’s first satellite – JY1-SAT
* APRS Satellites QIKCOM-1 Deployed
* FalconSat-3 Video w/ WiSP File Upload/Download
* Special Membership Offer for RadFxSat Launch
* Pope Asks Spacemen Life’s Big Questions In ISS Live Chat
* AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Elects Joe Spier, K6WAO, President
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-302.01
ANS-302 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 302.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
October 28, 2017
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-302.01

AMSAT-NA Announces GOLF CubeSat Program

At the AMSAT-NA Annual General Meeting in Reno, NV, AMSAT-NA President
Joe Spier, K6WAO, announced the next phase of AMSAT’s CubeSat program:
GOLF. GOLF, an acronym for “Greater Orbit, Larger Footprint,” is a
crucial step towards fulfilling AMSAT’s strategic goals involving high
altitude, wide access satellite missions.

As an initial step in the GOLF program, the AMSAT-NA Board of
Directors approved the submission of a NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative
proposal for the GOLF-T satellite project. The GOLF-T project will
serve as a rapidly deployable Low Earth Orbit (LEO) testbed for
technologies necessary for a successful CubeSat mission to a wide
variety of orbits, including LEO, Medium Earth Orbit (MEO),
Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO), Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO), or beyond.

AMSAT-NA Vice-President Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, said “The
GOLF-T project tees off the next phase of our CubeSat program. GOLF-T
provides AMSAT hardware and knowledge for Attitude Determination and
Control (ADAC) capability and the opportunity to develop a 3U
spaceframe with deployable solar panels that can be used in LEO or HEO
missions, two of the major systems required in future GOLF and HEO
missions.”

In addition, GOLF-T provides the opportunity for rapid deployment and
on orbit testing of the AMSAT’s Advanced Satellite Communications and
Exploration of New Technology (ASCENT )program’s technology, including
radiation tolerant transponder and Integrated Housekeeping Unit (IHU)
technologies that will lead the way for low cost commercial
off-the-shelf (COTS) systems that can function in the MEO and HEO
radiation environments. GOLF-T will also provide for the development
of “Five and Dime” Field-Programmable Gate Array Software Defined
Radio (FPGA SDR) transponders for use on a variety of missions and
orbits.

[ANS thanks the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors and our Engineering Team
for the above information]

———————————————————————

AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Elects Joe Spier, K6WAO, President

At it’s annual meeting, held at the Silver Legacy Resort Hotel in
Reno, NV, the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors elected Joe Spier, K6WAO, of
Reno, NV, President, succeeding Barry Baines, WD4ASW, who has retired
after nine years of service as AMSAT’s President. Joe is a Life Member
of AMSAT-NA and has previously served as Executive Vice President and
Vice-President Educational Relations. He also has Life Memberships in
the ARRL, SARA (Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers) and the AFA (Air
Force Association). He holds an Extra Class license as well as
commercial licenses.

Immediate Past President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, said “It has been an
honor to serve as President for the past nine years and as a board
member since 1999. I’m confident that the successes of the past nine
years while serving as President will lead to new opportunities in
AMSAT’s future as Joe assumes the helm working with the new Senior
Leadership Team. I’m also thrilled that Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, and
Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, are new voting members on the Board, including
the assumption of my former slot. I’m excited that the new Board
combined with the new Senior Leadership Team will bring insight,
enthusiasm, energy and commitment to move AMSAT forward.”

Other officers elected by the Board were:

* Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, of Washington, DC, as Executive Vice President
* Jerry Buxton, N0JY, of Granbury, TX, as Vice-President Engineering
* Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, of New Port Richey, FL, as
Vice-President Operations
* Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, of Granbury, TX, as Secretary
* Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF, of Corunna, ON, as Treasurer
* Martha Saragovitz of Silver Spring, MD, as Manager

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

———————————————————————

Jordan’s first satellite – JY1-SAT

During the final satellite integration training for Jordan’s first
satellite, JY1-SAT, the team was supported for the final stages of
integration by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin
Abdullah II.

The spacecraft has been given to students of the Masar Initiative at
the Jordan University of Science and Technology as part of the JY1-
SAT mission support and training program under the Crown Prince
Foundation given by ISIS – Innovative Solutions In Space and AMSAT-UK
and AMSAT Netherlands.

The JY1-SAT mission was proposed by Jordanian students who
participated in the first batch of the cooperation program with NASA,
after which the interns had suggested the design and launch of the
first Jordanian satellite CubeSat.

To build up the capability to design and develop such a first
mission, the Crown Prince Foundation signed a support agreement with
ISIS – Innovative Solutions In Space and the AMSAT Radio Amateur
Societies of the UK and the Netherlands, for hardware and training
support, building on ISIS’ and AMSAT’s experience with FUNcube radio
amateur transponder missions.

As a special development for the JY1-SAT mission, AMSAT has expanded
the capabilities of the FUNcube transponder to be able to transmit
stored images reflecting the Jordanian culture and its historical
heritage, along with a voice message recorded by the Crown Prince to
be transmitted in space to receivers around the world.

The launch of the JY1-SAT, scheduled during the first half of next
year, is in memory of His Majesty the late King Hussein, the first
founder of the HAM Radio in Jordan and holder of call sign JY1.

JY1-SAT will have a linear, inverting, transponder downlinking
between 145.855 & 145.875 MHz with the uplink between 435.100 &
435.120 MHz. The telemetry downlink will be on 145.840 MHz and be
FUNcube compatible. A new Dashboard will be made available before the
launch of JY1-SAT.

The Jordan Times – Crown Prince puts final touch on mini satellite
project http://tinyurl.com/ANS302-JY1-Sat

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

———————————————————————

APRS Satellites QIKCOM-1 Deployed

QIKCOM-1 was deployed from the ISS Friday at 0915 UTC attached to
the SIMPL spacecraft.  It is an APRS digipeater just like the ISS.
Whereas it also supports the same ARISS alias as the ISS digipeater,
please use the ALIAS of APRSAT on your uplinks instead of ARISS so
that you only hit QIKCOM-1 for these first few passes with your test
uplinks (once a minute)..  Or you can be specific via QIKCOM-1
callsign.  At 4 Watts, it will be 10 dB stronger than PSAT(84) and
about the same power level as ISS and should be easy to receive on
the 145.825 downlink.

We ask all potential IGates to check your ground stations and make
sure they are ready to IGate packets during those initial orbits from
all over the globe.  If you do not have an IGate, just capture
packets and email them to  qikcom1 at gmail.com until we see that
everything is making it to the APRS-IS.

The downlink should be available on the original
http://pcsat.findu.com and also on
http://59.167.159.165/satreporter/index2.html

Being released from ISS, QIKCOM-1 will of course have the same
Elements and tracking info as ISS until they begin to separate.  This
means passes over the USA every 90 minutes beginning at 0630 EDT in
the Southeast and ending after 1440 PDT in Southern California.

Web page:  http://aprs.org/qikcom-1.html

As usual, QIKCOM-1 is not intended for UNATTENDED BEACONS.  It is
designed for Live Operations and experiments only.

For the initial passes, do not attempt 2-way contacts.  Just set
your STATUS text to indicate your TX power and antenna type and
transmit at 1m intervals ATTENDED  as described on the web page
during these first few orbits. So we can get sttistices on uplink
quality.

[ANS thanks Bob, WB4APR for the above information]

———————————————————————

FalconSat-3 Video w/ WiSP File Upload/Download

If anyone would like to see how the WiSP software handles uploading &
downloading files to FalconSat-3, I made a video of the highest
elevation
pass tonight:

https://youtu.be/9spO1e8NVj0

… I don’t understand it all yet, but am seeing some uploads &
downloads.
I keep UISS open and ready in case anyone is active w/ APRS packets,
but on this pass I didn’t transmit from UISS to give the MSPE program
from WiSP maximum time to work.

There’s a little explanation in the notes below the video on YouTube
if you click “SHOW MORE” on that page.

Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, has scanned and posted the chapter on WISP
from Gould Smith’s 2005 Digital Satellite & Telemetry Guide to the
FalconSAT-3 page on amsat.org. He hopes it is helpful to everyone
diving back into this excellent program from the past.

It can be found near the bottom of the page at
https://www.amsat.org/falconsat-3/

[ANS thanks Scott, K4KDR and Drew KO4MA for the above information]

———————————————————————

Special Membership Offer for RadFxSat Launch

As part of the preparations for the launch of RadFxSat on November
10th, 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 see you soon on RadFxSat!

[ANS thanks Paul N8HM for the above information]

———————————————————————

Pope Asks Spacemen Life’s Big Questions In ISS Live Chat

Pope Francis chatted with six astronauts at the International Space
Station (ISS) on Thursday, kicking off the rare interview with a
philosophical question on “man’s place in the universe”.

Italian Paolo Nespoli, 60, admitted that despite the bird’s eye view
of Earth he too remained “perplexed”, while American Mark Vande Hei
said seeing the planet from space made them “realise how fragile we
are”.

The Argentine pontiff sat at a Vatican desk, facing a wide-screen
television on which the astronauts from America, Russia and Italy
could be seen floating together in their blue suits.

“Good afternoon… or good evening. I imagine time passes
differently at the space station, right?” the pope quipped.

“Astronomy makes us think about the universe’s boundless horizons,
and prompts questions such as ‘where do we come from, where are we
going?'” he mused.

A 30-second delay in the satellite feed gave Nespoli, Vande Hei,
Americans Randolph (Randy) Bresnik and Joseph Acaba, and Russians
Sergej Nikolaevic Rjazanskij and Alexandr Misirkin time to weigh up
life’s biggest questions.

“Our aim here is to spread knowledge, (but) the more we learn, the
more we realise we do not know,” admitted Nespoli, who is on his
third trip into space.

“I would like people like you, theologians, philosophers, poets,
writers, to come to space to explore what it means to be a human in
space,” he said, as Francis nodded and smiled.

US mission commander Bresnik told the Argentine that from the
visible thinness of the planet’s atmosphere shows how fragile life is
on earth.

– ‘Future of humanity’ –

But the pope had not finished: what, he wanted to know, was their
opinion of love as a force that moves the universe? What was their
source of joy up in the space station, and how did a life without
gravity change their view of the world?

The crew took it in turns to get their philosophical caps on, and
not even a technical hitch which temporarily interrupted the
interview, or the lack of a Russian translator, could throw the space
travellers off course.

“I get the most joy by looking outside every day and seeing God’s
creation, maybe a little bit from his perspective,” Bresnick said.

Far from wars, famines, pollution or human folly, he said “the
future of humanity looks better from up here”.

Bresnik, 50, a former Marine Corps aviator who goes by the nickname
“Komrade”, made his fifth career excursion outside the space station
this month to carry out crucial repairs to the ISS’s robotic arm with
NASA colleague Acaba.

Acaba, 50, the first person of Puerto Rican heritage to become an
astronaut, cheerfully said hello to the pope in Spanish before
tackling the question on how the men deal with ‘up’ and ‘down’ losing
their meaning in space.

Francis is not the only Roman Catholic leader to have put in a call
to the star-covered heavens.

The first pope to get on the line to space was Benedict XVI in 2011,
who rang the ISS — which has been continuously occupied since 2000 —
when Nespoli was once again among the crew.

[ANS thanks Ella IDE via Space Daily for the above information]

———————————————————————

ARISS News

+ A Successful contact was made between Istituto Scolastico
Comprensivo “Nardi”, Porto San Giorgio, Italyand Astronaut Paolo
Nespoli IZØJPA using Callsign IRØISS. The contact began 2017-10-21
09:31 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was
Direct/Telebridge via I6KZR and IQ5VR.HamTV was active.
ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF.

+ A Successful contact was made between I.C. Michelangelo
Buonarroti, Marina di Carrara, Italyand Astronaut Paolo Nespoli
IZØJPA using Callsign IRØISS. The contact began 2017-10-21 09:31 UTC
and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was
Direct/Telebridge via I6KZR and IQ5VR. HamTV was active.
ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF.

+ A Successful contact was made between Istituto Comprensivo “Tauro
Viterbo”, Castellana Grotte (Ba), Italy and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli
IZØJPA using Callsign IRØISS. The contact began 2017-10-21 14:23 UTC
and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via
IZ7RTN. HamTVC was active.
ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF.
Event location: Cittadella Mediterranea della Scienza, Bari, Italy

+ A Successful contact was made between “A.Gramsci-N.Pende”,
Noicattaro, Italy and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA using Callsign
IRØISS. The contact began 2017-10-21 14:23 UTC and lasted about nine
and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via IZ7RTN.
ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF. HamTVC was active.
Event location: Cittadella Mediterranea della Scienza, Bari, Italy

+ A Successful contact was made between Chiddix Junior High School,
Normal, IL, USA and Astronaut Joe Acaba KE5DAR using Callsign NA1SS.
The contact began 2017-10-23 15:31 UTC and lasted about nine and a
half minutes. Contact was Direct via W9AML
ARISS Mentor was Joe K6WAO.

+ A Successful contact was made between Beaconsfield State School,
Mackay, Queensland, Australia and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA
using Callsign IRØISS. The contact began 2017-10-26 08:23 UTC and
lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Telebridge via
IK1SLD
ARISS Mentor was Shane VK4KHZ.

+ A Successful contact was made between Colegiul National Calistrat
Hogas Piatra Neamt, Piatra Neamt, Romania and Astronaut Joe Acaba
KE5DAR using Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began 2017-10-26 09:55 UTC
and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Telebridge via
EI1ISS.
ARISS Mentor was Armand SP3QFE.

+ A Successful contact was made between Glanmire Community College,
Cork, Ireland and Astronaut Joe Acaba KE5DAR using Callsign OR4ISS.
The contact began 2017-10-26 09:55 UTC and lasted about nine and a
half minutes. Contact was Direct via EI1ISS.
ARISS Mentor was Seamus EI8BP.

+ A Successful contact was made between Istituto Tecnico Tecnologico
“Enzo Ferrari”, Borgo A Mozzano, Italy and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli
IZØJPA using Callsign IRØISS. The contact began 2017-10-28 08:13:31
UTC. Contact was Direct via IQ5LU and IQ1SM.
ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF.

+ A Successful contact was made between Liceo Statale “G. D.
Cassini”, Sanremo, Italy and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA using
Callsign IRØISS. The contact began 2017-10-28 08:13:31 UTC. Contact
was Direct via IQ5LU and IQ1SM.
ARISS Mentor was Gianpietro IZ2GOJ.

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule

+ Primaria e  Secondaria di primo grado Istituto comprensivo Via XVI
settembre, Civitavecchia,  Italy direct via IKØWGF
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA
Contact is a go for: Mon  2017-10-30 11:20:34 UTC
Watch for HamTV to be operative.

+ Asociación Civil  Instituto Maria Montessori, San Cristóbel,
Venezuela, direct via YY2CMR
The  ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is  Joe Acaba KE5DAR
Contact is a go for: Tue 2017-10-31 18:23:28 UTC

+ Liceo Scientifico ‘Francesco Cecioni”, Livorno, Italy and Liceo
Artistico Melotti, Lomazzo, Italy, direct via IQ5LI.
The ISS callsign is  presently scheduled to be IRØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA
Contact is a go for: Fri 2017-11-03 09:27:26 UTC
Watch for HamTV to be operative.

+ Istituto di Istruzione Superiore “Leonardo Da Vinci”,  Lanusei,
Italy, direct via ISØBWM
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to  be OR4ISS
The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA
Contact is a go  for: Sat 2017-11-04 10:12:16 UTC
Watch for HamTV to be operative.

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

———————————————————————

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Daylight saving time 2017 in the United Kingdom ends at 02:00 on
Sunday, 29 October

[ANS thanks Southgate ARN for the above information.]

+ Curious about when Daylight Savings time begins and ends around
the world?  Thank goodness for UTC.
Visit https://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/2017.html

[ANS thanks EMike AA8EM for the above information]

+ RUSSIAN WAR GAMES SPARK ‘BLUE AURORAS’
Around the Arctic Circle, people see green auroras almost every
night. It’s nothing to write home about. Blue auroras, on the other
hand, are very unusual.

Photos and more information are highlighted on
Spaceweather.com.

[ANS thanks Spaceweather.com via Southgate ARN 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
預覽 YouTube 影片「FalconSat-3 on 27-Oct-2017 :: Upload/Download w/ WiSP (No Audio)」

[ans] ANS-299 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin – AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Elects Joe Spier, K6WAO, President

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: JoAnne K9JKM
Date: 2017-10-27 7:31 GMT+08:00
Subject: [ans] ANS-299 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin – AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Elects Joe Spier, K6WAO, President
To: ans@amsat.org

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN
ANS-299

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:

* AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Elects Joe Spier, K6WAO, President

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-299.01
ANS-299 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin 299.01
From AMSAT SYMPOSIUM, RENO, NV
DATE October 26, 2017
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-299.01

AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Elects Joe Spier, K6WAO, President

At it’s annual meeting, held at the Silver Legacy Resort Hotel in
Reno, NV, the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors elected Joe Spier, K6WAO, of
Reno, NV, President, succeeding Barry Baines, WD4ASW, who has retired
after nine years of service as AMSAT’s President. Joe is a Life Member
of AMSAT-NA and has previously served as Executive Vice President and
Vice-President Educational Relations. He also has Life Memberships in
the ARRL, SARA (Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers) and the AFA (Air
Force Association). He holds an Extra Class license as well as
commercial licenses.

Immediate Past President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, said “It has been an
honor to serve as President for the past nine years and as a board
member since 1999. I’m confident that the successes of the past nine
years while serving as President will lead to new opportunities in
AMSAT’s future as Joe assumes the helm working with the new Senior
Leadership Team. I’m also thrilled that Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, and
Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, are new voting members on the Board, including
the assumption of my former slot. I’m excited that the new Board
combined with the new Senior Leadership Team will bring insight,
enthusiasm, energy and commitment to move AMSAT forward.”

Other officers elected by the Board were:

* Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, of Washington, DC, as Executive Vice President
* Jerry Buxton, N0JY, of Granbury, TX, as Vice-President Engineering
* Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, of New Port Richey, FL, as
Vice-President Operations
* Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, of Granbury, TX, as Secretary
* Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF, of Corunna, ON, as Treasurer
* Martha Saragovitz of Silver Spring, MD, as Manager

[ANS the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors for the above information]

/EX

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

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-295

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Lee McLamb <kt4tz@cfl.rr.com>
Date: 2017-10-22 21:49 GMT+08:00
Subject: [ans] ANS-295 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
To: ans@amsat.org

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-295

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:

* AMSAT Describes RadFxSat/Fox-1B Commissioning Plans
* CAS-4A and CAS-4B Amateur Radio Linear Transponders Activated
* Caution Urged in Using High Duty Cycle Digital Modes via Satellite
* ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, Wins G3AAJ Trophy
* AMSAT-UK YouTube Channel Updated with 2017 Colloquium Recordings
* Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-10-19
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-295.01
ANS-295 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 295.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE October 22, 2017
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-295.01

AMSAT Describes RadFxSat/Fox-1B Commissioning Plans

AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, NØJY wrote what to
initially expect when the AMSAT RadFxSat/Fox-1B cubesat is launched
as a passenger on NASA’s ELaNa XIV mission on Friday, Nov. 10, from
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Liftoff will be aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from
Space Launch Complex 2 and 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 cov-
erage will begin on NASA Television and the agency’s website at
1:15 a.m. PT.

RadFxSat/Fox-1B will automatically come up in Beacon Mode, transmitting
a beacon and voice ID (Veronica saying “RadFxSat Safe Mode”) every two
minutes, starting about 50 minutes after deployment. The AMSAT command
stations will want to see voltage and current data to determine that
it’s healthy and conduct various tests before opening it up for general
use.

Telemetry makes the engineering and operations teams very happy,
starting ASAP after startup (~55 minutes after deployment) and for
the next 72-96 hours at least as we look for successful startup, watch
the general health and function as the satellite begins to acclimate
to space, and perform the on orbit checkout. Ground stations are also
invited to continue uploading received telemetry for the life of the
satellite.

If you are capturing telemetry with FoxTelem please be sure that “Upload
to Server” is checked in your settings, and your Ground Station Params
are filled in as well. You can help AMSAT and everyone waiting to get
on the air with RadFxSat tremendously, by capturing RadFxSat telemetry.

In the initial Beacon Mode, the transmitter is limited to 10 seconds on
time then does the two minutes off cycle as Paul pointed out. For those
of you capturing telemetry, that means that you will only see Current
frames and no High or Low frames because the High and Low are truncated
as it takes just over 10 seconds to send two frames. Veronica may also
be cut off before she gets to say her whole ID string. If Veronica is
speaking, “RadFxSat Fox-1B Safe Mode” which is the full ID, if it’s cut
off then we’re still in Beacon Mode. If we are seeing good data from
user telemetry data, it is likely when it comes over the U.S. for the
first good pass we will command it from Beacon Mode to normal Safe Mode,
which then puts RadFxSat in full (still Safe Mode though) operation and
transmits a full two frames of telemetry which is one Current frame
followed by, and alternating each ID cycle, a High or a Low frame.
Veronica now has time to make the whole ID announcement, in Safe Mode.

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED!
——————–
Jerry, NØJY commented further …

Help your friends and all of our satellite ham friends get on the air
and have fun sooner by being polite and patient!

The on orbit checkout procedure is similar to Fox-1A/AO-85 and could
be completed in as little as a few days if we have the cooperation of
the users. It is very important, not to mention just plain good Amateur
Operating Practice, to refrain from using the transponder uplink so we
can do the on orbit tests, including when we turn on transponder mode
for testing. I can’t stress enough, the importance of this cooperation
not just for us but for all users, simply having a little patience so
we can conduct the tests as quickly and accurately as possible.

AMSAT will make it broadly known when the tests are complete and the
transponder is available for all to use. If you hear someone on the
transponder, please don’t assume that it is open for general use –
check the AMSAT website, Facebook, Twitter, to be sure you’re not
accidentally jumping in with and unwittingly interfering with the
commissioning process.

Lots of hams put thousands of volunteer hours of their time into making
RadFxSat happen. Just like any ham radio project you might undertake,
we build satellites. We do it because we like to, and when we’re done
we freely share our project with hams everywhere as is the spirit of
amateur radio.

I am asking all satellite hams to contribute just a little bit of your
time to the fun now, by being patient and just gathering telemetry,
not using the transponder uplink, and helping us complete the last few
days of getting RadFxSat in orbit and operating for all of you.

Thank you very much, see you on the bird!

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

———————————————————————

CAS-4A and CAS-4B Amateur Radio Linear Transponders Activated

On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 the amateur radio linear (SSB/CW) transponders on
the CAS-4A and CAS-4B satellites were activated.

CAMSAT’s amateur radio payloads piggybacked on the optical remote sensing micro-
satellites ZHUHAI-1 01 (OVS-1A / CAS-4A) and ZHUHAI-1 02 (OVS-1B / CAS-4B) that
were launched at 0300 GMT on Thursday, June 15, 2017 from the Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center, on the CZ-4B launch vehicle. The primary payload of the launch
was a hard X-ray modulation telescope satellite (HXMT).

CAS-4A Amateur Radio Payload:
Call sign: BJ1SK
VHF Antenna: one 1/4? monopole antenna with max. 0 dBi gain located at +Z side
UHF Antenna: one 1/4? monopole antenna with max. 0 dBi gain located at -Z side
CW Telemetry Beacon: 145.855 MHz 17 dBm
AX.25 4.8k Baud GMSK Telemetry: 145.835 MHz 20 dBm
U/V Linear Transponder Downlink: 145.870 MHz 20 dBm, 20 kHz bandwidth, Inverted
U/V Linear Transponder Uplink: 435.220 MHz

CAS-4B Amateur Radio Payload:
Call sign: BJ1SL
VHF Antenna: one 1/4? monopole antenna with max. 0 dBi gain located at +Z side
UHF Antenna: one 1/4? monopole antenna with max. 0 dBi gain located at -Z side
CW Telemetry Beacon: 145.910 MHz 17 dBm
AX.25 4.8k Baud GMSK Telemetry: 145.890 MHz 20 dBm
U/V Linear Transponder Downlink: 145.925 MHz 20 dBm, 20 kHz bandwidth, Inverted
U/V Linear Transponder Uplink: 435.280 MHz

[ANS thanks Alan, BD1DU, for the above information]

———————————————————————

Caution Urged in Using High Duty Cycle Digital Modes via Satellite

A report in ANS-288 discussed an experiment operating with the
WSJT-X FT8 via satellite. Satellite operators have gained more
experience with this mode over this past week.

As a result of on-the-air observation other satellite users
planning to try FT8 or MSK144 modes via satellite are encouraged
use caution using these modes and possibly avoid their use
completely in light of problems.

Dave, KG5CCI wrote, “He noticed a very hard time getting into the
transponder. The pass was nearly overhead, and the 3w-4w that is
normally sufficient was barely cutting it. I also noticed it was
‘up and down’ alot, whereas some moments it was easy to get in,
then it would be nearly impossible. There were also pockets of
‘noise’ all over the transponder, that sounded somewhat digital,
but I just couldn’t place them.” Further investigation revealed
that an MSK144 signal in the transponder passband was causing the
problems.

Matthew, NJ4Y noted, “Experimentation isn’t the problem, too much
power is. It’s bad enough on SSB, worse with CW, and killer on
constant duty cycle modes like FT8.”

To gain a full understanding of the situation readers are encouraged
to follow the amsat-bb message thread which can be accessed at:
http://www.amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2017-October/064896.html

[ANS acknowledges the comments submitted via amsat-bb from W5RKN,
KG5CCI, KB1PVH, W5PFG, and others]

———————————————————————

ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, Wins G3AAJ Trophy

ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, has been honored with the Ron
Broadbent, G3AAJ, Trophy. The presentation came during the AMSAT-UK
International Space Colloquium this past weekend.

“AMSAT-UK totally shocked me yesterday at the colloquium with the Ron Broadbent
Trophy,” Bauer reacted. “I was nearly speechless when asked to come up and
receive the trophy for ARISS work. I mentioned that, early on, Ron was a
phenomenal supporter and contributor to ARISS, with his sage advice and
guidance.”

The G3AAJ trophy is awarded annually by AMSAT-UK to an individual or group for
outstanding service to the Amateur Satellite service. The trophy was donated to
AMSAT-UK by the late Ron Broadbent, G3AAJ.

ARISS received the G3AAJ trophy last year in recognition of the ARISS UK team’s
dedication in working with the UK Space Agency to facilitate the Principia
Mission of astronaut Tim Peake, KG5BVI, aimed at engaging students in 10 UK
schools in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

[ANS thanks ARRL for the above information]

———————————————————————

AMSAT-UK YouTube Channel Updated with 2017 Colloquium Recordings

AMSAT-UK has begun uploading recordings of all talks from the 2017 Colloquium,
October 14-15 to the AMSAT-UK YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/AMSATUK

Some of the videos have already been uploaded; refresh your screen
occasionally to to catch additional 2017 Colloquium uploads.

2017: An introduction to Amateur satellites – David Johnson, G4DPZ and Carlos
Eavis G3VHF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tj2rUsNpPs&t=1039s

2017: Es’hail-2 Geostationary Amateur Satellite – Peter Guelzow DB2OS (AMSAT-DL)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L67pza0hCZw

2017: The Goonhilly project (aka playing with big boys toys) – Noel Matthews
G8GTZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzrcLFFEq74

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

———————————————————————

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-10-19

Chiddix Junior High School,  Normal, IL, direct via W9AM
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be  NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Joe Acaba KE5DAR (***)
Contact is a go  for: Mon 2017-10-23 15:31:15 UTC 27 deg (***)

Beaconsfield State  School, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, telebridge via
IK1SLD (***)
The ISS  callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS (***)
The scheduled astronaut  is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA (***)
Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-10-26 08:23:02  UTC 40 deg (***)

Glanmire Community College, Cork, Ireland, direct  via EI5CRC and Colegiul
National Calistrat Hogas Piatra Neamt, Piatra Neamt, Romania, telebridge
via EI5CRC
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be  OR4ISS
The scheduled astronaut is Joe Acaba KE5DAR (***)
Contact is a go  for: Thu 2017-10-26 09:55:45 UTC 68 deg (***)

Istituto Tecnico  Tecnologico “Enzo Ferrari”, Borgo A Mozzano, Italy and
Liceo Statale “G. D.  Cassini”, Sanremo, Italy direct via IQ5LU and IQ1SM
The ISS callsign is  presently scheduled to be IRØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli  IZØJPA
Contact is a go for: Sat 2017-10-28 08:13:31 UTC 24 deg (***)
Watch for Ham TV  (***)

[ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, for the above information]

———————————————————————

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ Valdir Lima, PY5/PW8PM and Dave Swanson, KG5CCI completed a 7763km
contact via AO-7. During his activation of the GG35 and GG36 grids
Valdir also made contact with PT9BM PU2NGB PT2AP LW2DAF NJ4Y KO4MA
K4FEG KG5CCI. Video of the contacts can be found on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/L2m0byYTxug (via Valdir Lima, PY5/PW8PM)

+ Sean Kutzko KX9X was interviewed on Ham Talk Live Episode 86.
The topic was Getting Started with Satellites with KX9X
Listen to the podcast at:

https://www.spreaker.com/user/hamtalklive/episode-86-getting-started-with-
satellit_1

/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,
Lee McLamb, KT4TZ
kt4tz at amsat dot org

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

+++++