ANS-279
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and
information 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://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 dot org.
In this edition:
* AO-7 to Enter Full Illumination Period October 9, 2019
* 2019 AMSAT Symposium On-line Registration Open Until October 11
* New ARISS Proposal Window is October 1, 2019 to November 30, 2019
* VUCC Awards-Endorsements for September 2019
* Amateur Radio Gets Temporary Use of 2400 MHz in Spain
* AMSAT-SA to Fly Cubesat Transponders on Balloon Flight
* SSTV Event Planned for ARISS on October 9, 2019
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* ARISS Activities & Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
* Satellite Shorts from All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-279.01
ANS-279 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 279.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
October 06, 2019
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-279.01
AO-7 to Enter Full Illumination Period October 9, 2019
On or about October 9, AO-7 will enter a period of full
illumination that will last until approximately December 2.
During this time, the satellite's onboard timer should switch
it between Mode A (145 MHz uplink / 29 MHz downlink) and Mode
B (432 MHz uplink / 145 MHz downlink) every 24 hours.
To check or report the satellite's current mode, please see the
AMSAT Live OSCAR Satellite Status Page at
https://www.amsat.org/status/.
Reporting observations during the first few days of the full
illumination period will be helpful for determining the approximate
time of the daily mode change.
Historical information on AO-7's systems, including the functioning
of the 24 hour timer, and operational plans can be found in the
AMSAT-OSCAR 7 Technical Operations Plan And Experimenter's Guide,
available at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-279-AO-7.
Mode V/A (A) Linear Transponder (Non-Inverting):
Uplink: 145.850 - 145.950 MHz SSB/CW
Downlink 29.400 - 29.500 MHz SSB/CW
Mode V/A (A) TLM Beacon:
Downlink 29.5020 MHz CW
Mode U/V (B) Linear Transponder (Inverting):
Uplink: 432.125 - 432.175 MHz SSB/CW
Downlink 145.975 - 145.925 MHz SSB/CW
Mode U/V (B) TLM Beacon:
Downlink 145.975 MHz CW
Mode U TLM Beacon
Downlink 435.100 MHz CW
Additional frequency details are also posted at:
https://www.amsat.org/two-way-satellites/ao-7/
[ANS thanks AMSAT Operations for the above information.]
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Don't miss the 50th Anniversary AMSAT Space Symposium
October 18-20 in Arlington, VA.
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-symposium/
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2019 AMSAT Symposium On-line Registration Open Until October 11
An on-line registration rate for the 37th Annual AMSAT Space
Symposium and General Meeting, Friday through Sunday, October 18-20,
2019, in Arlington, Virginia, is available through October 11, 2019
per the following schedule:
Registration September 16, 2019 - October 11, 2019 is $65 (on-line).
Registration at the Door is $70.
You can complete your registration on-line via the AMSAT Store:
https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-symposium/
This year, all registrants will receive a digital copy of the
Proceedings on a thumb drive. Attendees may purchase a hard copy for
$25.00. Non-attendees may put their name on a waiting list for a
hard copy, if there are any left over. The digital version of the
Proceedings will be made available on the online store shortly
after the Symposium concludes.
Student Registration is 50% off and does not include the Proceedings.
[ANS thanks the 2019 AMSAT Symposium Team for the above information.]
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New ARISS Proposal Window is October 1, 2019 to November 30, 2019
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program
is seeking formal and informal education institutions and
organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur
Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS
anticipates that the contact would be held between July 1, 2020 and
December 31, 2020. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the
exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities,
ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of
participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed
education plan.
The deadline to submit a proposal is November 30, 2019. Proposal
information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org.
The Opportunity
Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate
in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are
approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact
with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session.
An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via
Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space
station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford
education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from
astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn
about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an
opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless
technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human
spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the
ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes
in dates and times of the radio contact.
Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA
and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present
educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio
organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and
operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS
and students around the world using Amateur Radio.
More Information
For proposal information and more details such as expectations,
proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of
Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org.
Please direct any questions to
ariss dot us dot education at gmail dot com.
[ANS thanks the 2019 ARISS for the above information.]
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Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront.
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear
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VUCC Awards-Endorsements for September 2019
Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the
ARRL for the period September 1, 2019 through October 1, 2019.
Congratulations to all those who made the list this month!
CALL Sep Oct
WC7V 1200 1218
N9EAT 550 706
AA8CH 584 620
N3GS 525 597
WD9EWK (DM43) 575 585
VE7CEW 428 478
K9UO 450 475
KK4YEL 300 400
AD0HJ 300 325
PS8ET 274 303
WI4T 101 301
N7EGY 250 300
K7VNE New 150
KS1G 102 134
N7AME 125 127
N4QX 106 120
KJ4M New 102
N4BAF New 100
If you find errors or omissions. please contact Ron Parsons,
W5RKN off-list at
the announcement. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that
are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work!
[ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN for the above information.]
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Amateur Radio Gets Temporary Use of 2400 MHz in Spain
Spain’s national amateur radio society URE reports that amateurs will
be allowed to use 2,400.050 to 2,409.500 MHz for QO-100 (Es’hail-2)
geostationary satellite contacts until Dec 26, 2020.
A translation of the URE post says:
At the request of the Spanish Amateur Radio Union (URE), last March
the Secretary of State for Digital Advance authorized until
September 26, 2019 under certain conditions and on a temporary and
experimental basis the realization of emissions from the amateur
service in the frequency band 2400,050 to 2409,500 MHz.
The URE has again requested the Secretary of State for Digital
Advance the extension of the aforementioned administrative
authorization for a period of one year.
On September 26, the Resolution of the Secretary of State for Digital
Advance is approved by the resolution Authorize until
December 26, 2020 to the holders of amateur radio authorizations, the
realization of emissions from the amateur service in the frequency
band 2,400,050 to 2,409,500 MHz., With a maximum eirp of 1500 watts
and using directive antennas with a gain not less than 22.5 dBi, from
authorized amateur radio stations located anywhere in the national
territory to the QO-100 satellite located in the 25.9ºE orbital
position of the geostationary orbit.
See the resolution of the Secretary of State for Digital Advance at
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-279-Spain.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.]
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AMSAT-SA to Fly Cubesat Transponders on Balloon Flight
The Secunda Amateur Radio Club in South Africa will be launching a
high-altitude balloon on Saturday 12 October 2019. AMSAT SA will
have two payloads, Kletskous and AfriCUBE. Both transponders are
part of the AMSAT SA CubeSat programme and will be tested on the
BACAR 7 balloon.
The Kletskous transponder which has been developed and built by
Leon Lessing, ZS6LMG has an uplink on 435,155 MHz plus/minus 15 kHz
and a downlink on 145,865 MHz plus/minus 15 kHz. It is a linear
transponder supporting FM and SSB transmissions.
AfriCUBE, the brainchild of Anton Janovsky, ZR6AIC has an uplink on
435,100 MHz plus/minus 40 kHz and a downlink on 145,950 MHz
plus/minus 40 kHz. AfriCUBE supports several modes including FM,
SSB, SSTV and CW. Please consult the band plan and ground station
requirements on www.amsatsa.org.za. A voice beacon will operate on
10,480 GHz with the call sign ZS6BZP.
Additional payloads will also transmit RTTY telemetry on 434,650 MHz
and 1,296,600 MHz CW. The Hammies club has built a SSTV payload oper-
ating on 144.500 MHz. Standard APRS on 144.800 MHz is also available.
The 10 GHz band is also active with a beacon. ZS6WBT will have a
voice beacon on 145.550 MHz reading out flight information. ZS6IIX
will be attempting an altitude and distance record for 868 MHz
LORAWAN equipment.
Please send all the telemetry and SSTV info decoded to
admin@stratosfeer.co.za. The BACAR team will send you a certificate
of participation as well. For the final detail frequencies and
latest flight predictions from Wednesday 9 October 2019 visit
www.sarl.org.za and www.amsatsa.org.za frequently before the flight.
[ANS thanks the SARL weekly news in English 2019-10-5 for the above
information]
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SSTV Event Planned for ARISS on October 9, 2019
An SSTV event employing the Russian MAI-75 experiment is planned for
October 9 from 09:50 to 14:00 UTC and on Oct 10 from 08:55 to
15:15 UTC. The frequency will be 145.800 MHz and the mode will be
PD120 SSTV. For more details, visit the Amateur Radio on the ISS
(ARISS) Facebook page.
[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.]
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The digital download version of the 2019 edition of
Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a
DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today!
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
+ Briefly
MD (& DE?) W3ZM/3 (N8HM), Oct 6
DN05,DN06 KC7JPC & KI7UXT, Oct 6, 1500z-2100z, FM & Linears
DN03 - KI7UNJ, October 7, 1700Z to 1910Z, FM only
EL99 - K4WPX, October 11-12 (evening) and possibly morning/afternoon
on October 13; FM only
EM45,EM46 (possible EM45/46/55/56) - N4DCW, Oct0ber 13, 1616Z to
1810Z; FM only
EM25,EM35 - WI4T, October 15-16; holiday style
DN04 - KI7UNJ, October 21, 1653Z to 1910Z; FM only
EN67 WN9Q, Oct 8
+ CM79, do we need to say more? – October 7-9, 2019
Super Rover Ron, AD0DX, has a little vacation time to burn, so he’s
heading to CM79, October 7-9. Day 1 will be getting set up in camp
and scouting out the CM79/CM89/CN70/CN80 corner, so there is a slight
chance Ron will jump on a pass or two on October 7. Day 2 & 3
(October 8-9) are main days for operation. Steep terrain, lots of
trees, and a formidable ridgeline will ultimately decide his
operating position and pass availability, but the main objective is
CM79. FM and Linears. Limited (if any) cell coverage, but Ron will
Tweet when he can: https://twitter.com/ad0dx.
In addition, Ron will be driving up to Seattle via the 101 on his way
back home, with planned stops in CN70, CN71, CN72, CN73, and CN74.
+ Hungary (JN97) October 7-10, 2019
Pedro, CU2ZG, will be in Budapest on business, but he is bringing
his sat gear as HA/CU2ZG. FM only and subject to availability. Follow
Pedro on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/pdsousa.
+ Svalbard (JQ78) October 9-11, 2019
Halvard (LA7XK), along with Just (LA9DL) and Erling (LA6VM), are
going to Svalbard for the phone portion of the Scandinavian Activity
Contest (SAC). They will arrive in JW mid-day on Wednesday October 9
and return mid-day on Monday October 14.
They will be QRV via FO-29 from Wednesday October 9 to Friday
October 11 during the local evenings between 1630Z and 0100Z. Call
sign will be JW7XK and the locator is JQ78. Our best takeoff will be
from 240 degrees via west and north to about 34 degrees. In that
sector the elevation will be 1 to 2 degrees. We are renting a car up
there and will drive west from the city out passed the airport for
the best takeoff. We should be able to work most of USA and Canada
and also Alaska. They will alternate between SSB and CW, using an
IC-9700 and an Arrow antenna.
+ #AMSATandAngling (DM15, DM06) October 11-13, 2019
Ed, KN6DBC, is going fishing (literally), but he is bring gear to
work FM Satellites. October 11 he’ll be in DM15, and October 12 and
13 in DM06. Visit Ken’s Twitter feed for specific pass schedule and
further updates: https://twitter.com/KN6DBC.
+ Central California (CM95, CM96, DM05, DM06) – October 19, 2019
David AD7DB will re-visit the four grids near Kettleman City CA.
AO-91, AO-92, SO-50 will be used, with eastern passes a priority.
Maybe PO-101 if it’s on, and AO-85 if it’s not too finicky. Contacts
will be put on LOTW following the trip.
Updates on Twitter https://twitter.com/ad7db.
+ Hawaii (BK19, BK28, BK29, BL20) December 21-28, 2019
Alex, N7AGF, is heading back to Hawaii over Christmas. This will be
a holiday-style activation, with special emphasis on the grid that
got away – BK28. Keep an eye on Alex’s Twitter feed for further
announcements at https://twitter.com/N7AGF
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.]
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The digital download version of the 2019 edition of
Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a
DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today!
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started
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ARISS Activities & Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
+ Completed Contacts
The Southwest State University of Kursk, Kursk, Russia, direct
via UB3WCL
The ISS callsign was RSØISS.
The astronaut was Aleksey Ovchinin .
Contact was successful Saturday, September 28, 2019, 14:35 UTC.
UAE school #2 with Space Flight participant, direct via A68MBR
The ISS callsign was RSØISS.
The astronaut was Hazza Al Mansour.
Contact was successful Saturday, September 28, 2019, 11:20 UTC.
+ Upcoming Contacts
School in Russia TBD direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled astronaut is TBD
Contact is go for Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 06:05 UTC
Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via TBD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS
The scheduled astronaut is Aleksey Ovchinin
Contact is go for Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 08:25 UTC
Bampton School, Bampton, United Kingdom, direct via G2LV
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA
Contact is go for: Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 12:51:26 UTC 27 deg
Watch for live stream at https://live.ariss.org
Collège Robert Doisneau, Sarralbe, France, direct via F6KFT
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP
Contact is go for: Tuesday, October 8, 2019, 14:29:21 UTC 53 deg
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.]
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Satellite Shorts from All Over
+ FO-29 Update
From JARL FO-29 control center as of October 3, 2019:
FO-29 Transponder will be available until under voltage control
activates in the CW telemetry. The current schedule is as follows
(UTC date and time):
1
October 5, 06:40-15:00
October 6, 07:25-17:35
October 12, 05:30-15:35
October 13, 08:00-14:40
October 19, 07:45-14:25
October 20, 05:10-15:15
[ANS thanks Alan Biddle, WA4SCA for the above information.]
+ ESA Academy Hosts CubeSat Academy
ESA Academy hosted the CubeSats Hands-On Training Week 2019. The
training ran from September 16 - 20, 2019. It was held at ESA
Academy's Training and Learning Centre, ESEC-Galaxia, Belgium. The
event was attended by twenty-six university students from fifteen
different ESA Member States and Canada.
The Training Week had a clear objective: transfer hands-on knowledge
to university students who are keen to start their own educational
CubeSat initiatives, or who are already at the conceptual or
preliminary design stage of a CubeSat project at university.
The full article posted at: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-279-ESA-Academy.
[ANS thanks ESA for the above information.]
+ Cubesat Developers 2020 Workshop Announced
Cubesat has announced its 2020 Developers Workshop will be held
May 4–6, 2020 at the California Polytechnic State University,
San Luis Obispo Cal Poly Performing Arts Center,
San Luis Obispo, CA. Workshop details are available at
cubesat-workshop@calpoly.edu.
[ANS thanks Cubesat for the above information.]
+ Cal Poly Aerospace Engineering Professor and Computer Engineering
Student Help Cambodian High School’s Quest to Launch Nation’s
First CubeSat
A two-person team from Cal Poly helped the Cambodian space program
get off the ground in August. The pair traveled to the capital city
of Phnom Penh to assist a group of high school seniors, with the goal
to install and test the students’ ground station for tracking
satellites — not to launch a national program. But they were happy to
play a role in the potentially history-making student project as
well as the bigger picture of lifting the nation into orbit. An
excellent story can be read at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-279-Cal-Poly.
[ANS thanks Cal Poly News for the above information.]
+ Santa Rosa Middle School ARISS Contact Gets Good Press
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat gave the Middle School's ARISS
contact on October 1, 2019 excellent coverage. Read the article at
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-279-Santa-Rosa.
[ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information.]
+ The Rise of the Smallsat Gaining Traction
Satellites of less than 180 kilograms are becoming increasingly
popular because of their ability to enable new technologies and
achieve revolutionary results. No longer used exclusively by
government agencies, satellites — and in particular — small
satellites (smallsats) are gaining in popularity with the private
sector. SatMag describes the current trend and why the use of
smallsats is on the rise. Read the full article at
http://www.satmagazine.com/story.php?number=8941393.
[ANS thanks SatMag.com for the above information.]
+ World Space Week, 4-10 October
The United Nations General Assembly declared in 1999 that World Space
Week (WSW) will be held each year from October 4-10. The dates were
in recognition of the October 4, 1957 launch of the first human-made
Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, thus opening the way for space
exploration and the October 10, 1967 signing of the Treaty on
Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and
Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial
Bodies. The theme for World Space Week 2019 is "The Moon: Gateway
to the Stars".
During World Space Week space education and outreach events are
organized by space agencies, aerospace companies, schools,
planetaria, museums, and astronomy clubs around the world. Find an
event near you at
http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/outreach/events/wsw/index.html
[ANS thanks the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
for the above information.]
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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
additional 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
student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this
status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student
membership information.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
n1uw at amsat dot org
Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum
available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring
membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author
and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite
program!
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