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:
* Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch
* FO-29 Operational
Schedule
* Georgia Institute of Technology GT-1 To Feature Amateur Radio
Robot Operation
* K7UAZ Radio Club Helps Prepare Satellite Radio
Station for Space Camp at Biosphere 2
* New QO-100 Band Plan
Announced
* ARISS News
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other
Events
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Satellite Shorts from All
Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-061.01
ANS-061 AMSAT News Service Weekly
Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 061.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON,
MD.
March 01, 2020
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID:
$ANS-061.01
Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch
The spouse of ARISS
Hardware team member Ed Krome, K9EK, pointed out
that the ARISS next
generation radio system, the InterOperable Radio
System (IORS) is
prominently described as a primary payload, not
secondary, on the SpaceX
CRS-20 mission which will be launched no
earlier than March 6, 2020
(ET).
The ARISS Team wants to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone
that
has contributed to helping ARISS realize this major milestone
It
should be noted that the ARISS hardware team is still very busy on
IORS
development and final certification. While certified for launch
and stowage
on ISS, the team is still in deep into the final
certification of the IORS
for flight operations. Also, the build of
the second flight unit is in
progress in Florida and in San Diego.
While CRS-20 represents the launch of
SN 1001, the first flight unit,
it also represents the beginning of the
"ARISS factory build" and
certification of all ten units.
The ARISS
team also notes that November 13, 2020 will represent the
20th year of ARISS
continuous amateur radio operation on ISS!
[ANS thanks Frank Bauer,
KA3HDO AMSAT Vice President, Human Space
Flight for the above
information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
FO-29
Operational Schedule
The operation of Fuji 3 (FO-29) has been unstable,
but the
transmitter will be turned on in the next pass. Since the date and
time are in UTC, add 9 hours to convert to Japan time.
The operation
is until the UVC (lower limit voltage control)
operates.
[Scheduled
time to turn on the analog transmitter of Fuji 3 (UTC)]
March 1 04:00-
14:05
March 2 04:45- 14:55
March 7 03:40- 05:25- 13:50
March 8
04:30- 06:15- 14:40
March 14 04:15- 06:00- 14:25
March 15 03:25- 05:10-
15:15
March 21 03:10- 04:55- 15:00
March 22 04:00- 05:45- 14:05
March 28 03:45- 05:30- 13:50
March 29 04:35- 06:20- 14:40
Because of data acquisition, besides this operation plan, the
transmitter may be turned on for a short time.
[ANS thanks JARL for
the above
information.]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
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
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Georgia
Institute of Technology GT-1 To Feature Amateur Radio Robot
Operation
The Glenn Lightsey Research Group, Space Systems Design Lab
at the
Georgia Institute of Technology is sponsoring a 1U CubeSat mission.
The primary function of GT-1 is to be an educational proof of concept
and satellite bus demonstrator. It will use this mission as an
opportunity for undergraduates to get involved in all parts of a
space
mission, from design to implementation and sustainment. It will
test a
prototype deployable antenna and solar panels, which can be
used for future
missions derived from the same baseline design, and
with inclusion of
additional experimental equipment.
It will operate with AX.25 protocol
to collect telemetry data. In
partnership with the W4AQL Georgia Tech
Amateur Radio Club, the
satellite will also host a digital contact ROBOT
payload, inspired by
the Russian ham satellites RS-12 and RS-13. It will
collect QSO
information from individuals who contact the ROBOT as it orbits.
The
satellite will also function as a standard digipeater. Proposing a
9k6 UHF downlink using G3RUH FSK modulation. Planning a JAXA
deployment
from the ISS in October 2020. A downlink on 437.175 MHz
has been
coordinated.
[ANS thanks IARU for the above
information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
K7UAZ
Radio Club Helps Prepare Satellite Radio Station for Space Camp
at Biosphere
2
In preparation for the upcoming Space Camp at Biosphere 2 , members
of the University of Arizona K7UAZ Amateur Radio Club are helping
with
the placement of an Amateur Radio satellite ground station. The
first step
was to mount the Yaesu G-5500 az-el rotor system to a
Rohn 45 tower. The
complete station will include circularly polarized
M2 beam antennas for 2m
and 70cm, an Icom IC-9700, computers and
tracking software.
Curt
Laumann, K7ZOO, Station Manager for the K7UAZ club reports that
Space Camp
management is enthusiastic about having UAZ students help
with the
installation and setup of the station. Student involvement
will also
include calibrating the rotator system, mapping the
artificial horizon for
the tracking software and integration and
testing the tracking software with
the radio.
Now in its third year, Space Camp at Biosphere 2 will be held
August 3-8, 2020. Space Camp at Biosphere 2 is a joint effort with
the
University of Arizona Biosphere 2, the Arizona NASA Space Grant
Consortium,
and the University of Kyoto, Japan. Students attending
the camp will
experience college-level curriculum and activities
focusing on the
biological/environmental facets of space travel.
More information on
Space Camp at Biosphere 2 is available at
https://spacegrant.arizona.edu/research/spacecamp
[ANS
thanks Curt Laumann, K7ZOO for the above
information.]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2
LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a
portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio
in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
New
QO-100 Band Plan Announced
Just in time for the 1-year anniversary of the
successful
commissioning of the two transponders of Qatar-OSCAR 100, an
encore
is pending: The capacity of the NB transponder will be expanded from
about 250 KHz to almost 500 KHz.
In addition to extended areas for
the various operating modes, more
space is also being created in particular
for "mixed mode" and other
special operating cases. In addition to
frequencies reserved for
emergency radio operations, more experiments are to
be made possible
here.
But all this only with a maximum bandwidth of
2.7 kHz. Automatic
operation requires a special license from the local
licensing
authorities and must be coordinated with the operator beforehand;
this task is performed by AMSAT-DL on behalf of QARS and Es'hailSat.
To
take account of user behavior, AMSAT-DL has almost doubled the
SSB range in
particular.
Detailed information is available at
https://amsat-dl.org/en/neuer-qo-100-bandplan/
[ANS
thanks AMSAT-DL for the above
information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS
News
* Upcoming Contacts
River Ridge High School, New Port Richey,
FL.
Direct via WA3YFQ.
The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan
KI5AAA.
The contact is a go for Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 15:17:44
UTC.
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above
information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Hamfests,
Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
AMSAT Ambassadors provide
presentations, demonstrate communicating
through amateur satellites, and
host information tables at club
meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker
faires, and other events.
Current schedule:
March 6, 2020, Irving
Hamfest, Irving, TX
March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona,
Tucson, AZ
March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN
March
21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ
March 28,
2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ
March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless
Winterfest, Annandale, VA
May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest,
Sierra Vista, AZ
May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ
May 15-17,
Hamvention, Xenia, OH
June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX
[ANS thanks
Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above
information.]
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio
package, including two-way communication capability, to
be
carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.
Support AMSAT's projects
today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Upcoming
Satellite Operations
- Shorts
Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and
possibly FM)
- Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020
Ron
AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend
National Park to
put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added
here, as they come
available, but you are more than welcome to keep
an eye on their individual
Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx,
https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5
-
#NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020
David, AD7DB, will
venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically
activate grid DM19 on
Saturday March 21. This is actually down a
side road from "The Loneliest
Road in America." Hardly any hams even
live in that grid. It's for sure
that few ever activate it. On the
way there, Friday March 20, he will try
to also activate some or all
of: DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18.
Going home Sunday,
March 22, he will try to visit them again. This will be
on FM
satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there
but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db
[ANS thanks
Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above
information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite
Shorts from All Over
AMSAT SA Space Symposium Announced
* The
AMSAT SA Space Symposium will be held on July 11, 2020.
Prospective authors
are invited to propose papers by submitting a
brief synopsis to admin@amsatsa.org.za before Friday,
February 28, 2020. While the call for papers is ongoing till the end
of
February, AMSAT SA is pleased to announce that Burns Fisher WB1FJ,
of AMSAT
NA will delivery two papers at the symposium: Fox-in-a-box,
Fox telemetry
reception using an inexpensive Raspberry Pi and a
J-pole antenna including a
discussion on the optimal positioning for
a J-pole antenna for satellite
reception and an overview of what is
in orbit currently and expected in the
near future and their features.
More information available at http://www.sarl.org.za/
[ANS thanks
SARL for the above information.]
* MEMESat-1 Proposed
Let's Go
to Space, Inc.'s first satellite mission is the Mission for
Education and
Multimedia Engagement, better known as MEMESat-1. This
spacecraft will be a
1U amateur radio CubeSat. It's primary mission
is to serve as an FM Repeater
and to downlink donor submitted memes
via UHF SSTV protocol. MEMESat is also
being created to engage people
through the sharing of memes from space and
help fund small satellite
focused research.
More information
available at https://letsgo2space.com/memesat-1-3/
[ANS
thanks Michael Frazier, KJ5Z for the above information.]
* Two
Commercial Satellites Link Up for First Time
A Northrop Grumman robotic
servicing spacecraft has hooked up with an
aging Intelsat communications
satellite more than 22,000 miles over
the Pacific Ocean, accomplishing the
first link-up between two
commercial satellites in space, and the first
docking with a
satellite that was never designed to receive a
visitor.
Northrop Grumman's first commercial Mission Extension Vehicle,
or
MEV 1, will take over propulsion responsibilities for Intelsat 901,
which is running low on fuel after more than 18 years in service
relaying data and television signals. MEV 1 is the first spacecraft
of
its kind, and officials say the successful link-up with Intelsat
901 is a
harbinger for a new era of commercial satellite servicing.
The automated
docking early Tuesday also marked the first connection
of two satellites in
geosynchronous orbit, a region high above the
equator where spacecraft move
at speeds that match the rate of
Earth's rotation.
Complete
information at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-061-Grumman
[ANS
thanks SpaceFlightNow.com for the above
information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
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!
Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
_______________________________________________
Via
the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
