The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a
free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT, 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
commun-
icating 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.
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News
Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see:
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In
this edition:
* Welcome Back XW-2D
* PSAT3 Launch CANCELED
* AMSAT
Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention
* The 23cm Satellite Band is
Under Scrutiny in Europe
* Replacing the International Space Station?
*
FO-29 Operational Schedule
* ARISS News
* AMSAT Will be at ScienceCity in
Tucson, March 14-15
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other
Events
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Satellite Shorts from All
Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-068.01
ANS-068 AMSAT News Service
Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 068.01
From AMSAT HQ
KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE 2020 Mar 08
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID:
$ANS-068.01
Welcome Back XW-2D
XW-2D has come back from its
apparent issues and is back in action.
No official report for the satellite
owner, but reports from operators all
over the world have shown the satellite
is back in operation:
Frequency:
UPLINK LSB 435.210 MHz to 435.230
MHZ
DOWNLINK USB 145.860 MHz to 145.880 MHZ
Make sure to post your
reception reports for all satellites at
https://www.amsat.org/status/
[ANS
thanks Hasan Schiers, N0AN, for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
PSAT3
Launch CANCELED
Four days from Shipping PSAT3 to Kodiak for launch, the
launch has been
canceled.
The launch was part of the DARPA LAUNCH
CHALLENGE:
https://darpalaunchchallenge.org/index.html
The
challenge (and $10m prize) was for any launch provider to deliver
a rocket
with only 30 days notice of what payloads they would have and
where they
would launch from. And then to do it again only 30 days
later. We were on
the second launch.
But on 2 March the third attempt by the launch
provider was scrubbed at
T-9 minutes and was not resolved until the launch
window (and DARPA
challenge deadline) had passed. Therefore the CHALLENGE is
over, there
was no winner, and we lost the launch.
So, if anyone hears
of a rocket that needs a CUBESAT PPOD backup
replacement, we have one: http://aprs.org/psat3.html
[ANS
thanks Bob, WB4APR for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AMSAT
Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention
Come join us the day before
Hamvention, for AMSAT® Academy – a unique
opportunity to learn all about
amateur radio in space and working FM,
linear transponder, and digital
satellites currently in orbit.
AMSAT® Academy will be held Thursday, May
14, 2020, from 9:00am to
5:00pm, at the Dayton Amateur Radio Association
(DARA) Clubhouse, loc-
ated at 6619 Bellefontaine Rd, Dayton,
Ohio.
The $85 registration fee includes:
• Full day of
instruction, designed for both beginners and advanced
amateur radio
satellite operators, and taught by some of the most
accomplished AMSAT
operators.
• Digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites, 2020
Edi-
tion ($15 value)
• One-Year, AMSAT® Basic Membership ($44
value)
• Pizza Buffet Lunch
• Invitation to the Thursday night AMSAT® get
together at Ticket Pub
and Eatery in Fairborn.
Registration closes
May 8, 2020. No sign ups at the door. No refunds,
no
cancellations.
Registrations may be purchased on the AMSAT store at
https://www.amsat.org/product/2020-amsat-academy-registration/
[ANS
thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Vice President - User Services for
the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The
23cm Satellite Band is Under Scrutiny in Europe
The International Amateur
Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 committee is al-
ready actively participating in
the regulatory work taking place in
the European Conference of Postal and
Telecommunications Administra-
tions (CEPT) to consider coexistence between
the secondary amateur and
amateur satellite services and the primary radio
navigation satellite
service, in the 1.2 GHz band. The principal issue is
Europe's Galileo
system of global navigation satellites.
The Galileo
services are delivered in a number of bands and one occu-
pies the 1260-1300
MHz band. The Galileo team has witnessed interfer-
ence from amateur TV
transmissions which resulted in station shut down
and has experienced
interference from high power EME operations too.
Work is at an early
stage and the IARU will continue to try tp mini-
mise the impact on amateur
operations however it is likely that some
changes will be necessary to the
way we use the band.
The topic is closely related to the agenda of the
next World Radio-
communication Conference coming up in 2013 (WRC-23) at
which represen-
tatives of the United Nations countries who are members of
the Inter-
national Telecommunication Union will agree on coordinated radio
regu-
lations.
For more information, see https://tinyurl.com/tcrdm4j
[ANS
thanks Jacques Verleijen, ON4AVJ, and the IARU Region 1 Newsletter
for the
above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Replacing
the International Space Station?
Aboard the International Space Station
(ISS), humanity has managed to
maintain an uninterrupted foothold in low
Earth orbit for just shy of
20 years. But as the saying goes, what goes up
must eventually come
down. The ISS is at too low of an altitude to remain in
orbit indef-
initely, and core modules of the structure are already operating
years
beyond their original design lifetimes. As difficult a decision as
it
might be for the countries involved, in the not too distant future
the
$150 billion orbiting outpost will have to be abandoned.
Naturally
there’s some debate as to how far off that day is. NASA of-
ficially plans to
support the Station until at least 2024, and an ex-
tension to 2028 or 2030
is considered very likely. However, one commer-
cial partner is betting on a
longer-term future. Axiom has been select-
ed by NASA to develop a new
habitable module for the U.S. side of the
Station by 2024.
While the
agreement technically only covers a single module, Axiom
hasn’t been shy
about their plans going forward. Once that first module
is installed and
operational, they plan on getting NASA approval to
launch several new modules
branching off of it. Ultimately, they hope
that their “wing” of the ISS can
be detached and become its own inde-
pendent commercial station by the end of
the decade.
Read the full article at https://bit.ly/39tsc6V
[ANS thanks
Hackaday 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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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 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.]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS
News
An International Space Station (ISS) school contact with an
Australian
school on 13 March will be audible in USA! The ISS will be over
North
America at the time, and the Australians will link to it by land
line
"Telebridge" via a U.S. amateur radio station.
The contact will
be with the Australian Air League - South Australia
Wing, Parafield, South
Australia, but via Telebridge Station K6DUE in
Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. The
ISS callsign is presently scheduled to
be NA1SS and the scheduled astronaut
is Drew Morgan, KI5AAA.
The contact is scheduled at 08:56 UTC with
downlink signals from ISS
heard above Maryland and nearby areas on 145.800
MHz narrowband FM.
[ANS thanks Rudy Parisio, IW2BSF, and Charlie Sufana,
AJ9N, of the
ARISS Operation Team, for the above
information]
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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/
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AMSAT
Will be at ScienceCity in Tucson, March 14-15
AMSAT will be supporting
the University of Arizona's K7UAZ radio club
during the ScienceCity science
fair on 14-15 March 2020 (a Saturday and
Sunday). ScienceCity will be on the
University of Arizona campus in
Tucson, Arizona. This science fair is
supported by several
organizations at the university, and runs in conjunction
with the
Tucson Festival of Books that will also take place that weekend.
More
information about ScienceCity is available at:
http://sciencecity.arizona.edu/
Information
about the K7UAZ radio club is available at:
http://k7uaz.com/
The K7UAZ radio club will
have a booth in the "Science of Everyday
Life" area at ScienceCity. This
booth will showcase different facets
of amateur radio, including amateur
satellites. WD9EWK, and possibly
other call signs, should be heard during
demonstrations of satellite
operating taking place at ScienceCity. If you
hear us, please call
and be a part of the demonstrations. The University of
Arizona campus
is in grid DM42, in Arizona's Pima County. QSLing will be
determined
by the call sign used for QSOs. WD9EWK will upload to Logbook of
the
World, and will be happy to send QSL cards on request (please
e-mail
Patrick the QSO details - no card or SASE is required to get a
card).
K7UAZ will confirm QSOs by QSL card, following instructions posted
on
QRZ.com.
During the weekend, the @WD9EWK Twitter account will be
used to post
updates from ScienceCity. If you do not use Twitter, you can
view these
updates in a web browser without having a Twitter account
at:
http://twitter.com/WD9EWK
[ANS
thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, AMSAT Board Member, 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 14-15, 2020, Science City on
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
(see above)
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, AMSAT
VP-User Services for the
above
information.]
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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/
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Upcoming
Satellite Operations
- Shorts
Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and
possibly FM)
- K7U ROVE March 7-8, 2020
Casey KI7UNJ and Kel KI7UXT
will be operating as K7U from CN93,
CN94, DN03, DN04 a CN92. Details are
posted on QRZ
https://www.qrz.com/db/k7u Updates from
the road on their individual
Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ and
https://twitter.com/KI7UXT
- 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
ide 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, AMSAT VP-User Services for the
above
information.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite
Shorts From All Over
+ The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has
completed frequency
coordination HSU-SAT1, a 1U CubeSat to be released from
the ISS
sometime in the coming year. The satellite will include capability
of
a camera image dowlinked by Slow Scan Television (SSTV). The camera
will take a photograph of the Earth at image pixel size 320x240. The
photograph taken will then be converted into analog SSTV signal, and
sent
by FM-SSTV downlink on 437.280 MHz. This be part of the
satellite's main
mission, test of a three-axis attitude control
system. More info at
shorturl.at/dizP0 and shorturl.at/puNW7
(ANS thanks IARU and AMSAT-UK for
the above information)
+ The Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) reports
that a number of ama-
teur radio events planned for March have been
cancelled as a result
of coronavirus warnings. JARL, in line with
government policy, has
requested that all events scheduled for the next two
weeks be can-
celed or postponed for the time being. Also, Dayton
Hamvention offi-
cials say they are closely following the coronavirus
(COVID-19) sit-
uation. Show organizers will post updates as the May 15 –
17 event
nears, but they’re optimistic that coronavirus will not be an
issue.
(ANS thanks Southgate ARC and ARRL for the above
information)
+ SpaceX-20, a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the
International
Space Station launched at 0449 GMT Saturday from Cape
Canaveral’s
Complex 40 launch pad. The mission carrying, as a primary
payload,
the Interoperable Radio System (IORS). The IORS is the
foundational
element of the ARISS next-generation radio system on ISS. If
all
goes according to plan, the Dragon cargo capsule will dock with
the
space station on Monday, 9 March.
(ANS thanks SpaceflightNow 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 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in
space,
This week's ANS Editor,
Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ
ki7unj at amsat dot
org
_______________________________________________
Via the ANS mailing
list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
