AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-117
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
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In
this edition:
* March/April 2020 Edition of Apogee View Posted
*
Long-Lost U.S. Military Satellite Found By Amateur Radio Operator
* Let's
Take Some Pictures
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* The W4AMI
Award and How to Obtain One
* New OSCAR T-Shirt Available from AMSAT Zazzle
Store
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* ARISS News
* Hamfests,
Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All
Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-117.01
ANS-117 AMSAT News Service Weekly
Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 117.01
>From AMSAT HQ
KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE 2020 April 26
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID:
$ANS-117.01
March/April 2020 Edition of Apogee View Posted
The
March/April 2020 edition of Apogee View, a comprehensive update
on AMSAT's
activities from AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG,
has been posted to
the AMSAT website.
https://www.amsat.org/apogeeview/
[ANS
thanks AMSAT the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Long-Lost
U.S. Military Satellite Found By Amateur Radio Operator
Scott Tilley,
VE7TIL, has made the news once again for tracking down
yet another "zombie"
satellite. Scott was the subject of a report
broadcast on National Public
Radio on Friday, April 24.
This time, he managed to identify signals from
LES-5, an experimental
military UHF communications satellite built by the
Massachusetts Insti-
tute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory and launched in
1967. Even
though the satellite was supposed to shut down in 1972, it's still
go-
ing. As long as the solar panels are in the sun, the satellite's
radio
continues to operate.
In 2018, Tilly found a signal from a NASA
probe called IMAGE that the
space agency had lost track of in 2005. With
Tilley's help, NASA was
able to reestablish contact. He has rediscovered
several other long-
forgotten birds, including Transit 5B-5, a
nuclear-powered U.S. Navy
navigation satellite launched in 1965.
Scott
announced his findings on LES-5 through his Twitter account,
@coastal8049, on
March 24. The full NPR story may be found at:
https://n.pr/2x64aAZ.
[ANS thanks NPR.org
for the above
information]
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office
is closed until further
notice. For details, please visit
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/
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Let's
Take Some Pictures
The command team has had a few requests for camera
mode on AO-92 over
the last few weeks, and it’s been a while, so let’s take
some pictures
next week.
Next Tuesday morning, April 28th, we’ll
attempt to command the camera
on at approximately 1440Z and 1612Z. We’ll also
try the 1750Z pass.
If we can’t command on the 1750Z pass, we’ll find a
suitable pass
later in the week for the west coast.
Take a look
at
https://www.amsat.org/foxtelem-software-for-windows-mac-linux/
for
a guide on how to set up FoxTelem, and
https://www.amsat.org/tlm/showImages.php?id=4
for near-live images
as we go. Remember, the more stations submitting
telemetry during
the event, the better the chance of complete
images!
[ANS thanks Andrew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP
Operations,
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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Changes
to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
Last week's AMSAT News Service Weekly
Bulletin (ANS-110.01) contained
a news item entitled "Receiving SMOG-P and
ATL-1 Nano Satellites With
an RTL-SDR" from Zoltan Doczi,
HA7DCD.
Please note that on December 19, 2019 AMSAT designated SMOG-P
as
Magyar-OSCAR 105 (MO-105) and ATL-1 as Magyar-OSCAR 106
(MO-106).
In the AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution, the TLEs for these two
Hungarian
satellites are shown as follows:
MO-105 is NORAD Cat ID
44832 (SMOG-P)
MO-106 is NORAD Cat ID 44830 (ATL-1)
[ANS thanks Ray
Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the
above
information]
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The
W4AMI Award and How to Obtain One
Just a little history, Robert W. Barbee
Jr., W4AMI, was a very prolific
operator and in his honor this certificate
was created and the first
certificate was issued to him on June 27, 1994. He
has since become an
SK and his local club has taken over his call sign. The
award was
originally the W4AMI Satellite Operator Achievement Award. The
local
club asked me not to use their call sign for the award. I changed
the
award to The Robert W. Barbee, Jr. W4AMI Satellite Operator
Achievement
Award. And here we are today, finally having issued over
100
certificates and over 30 of the 5,000 certificates.
This award is
for making 1,000 contacts with any station any time. You
can say hello to
your friend on every satellite on every pass every day
and count those
contacts. That being said, any contact you log counts.
The award has
endorsements for making 1,000 more contacts up to 4,000.
Another 1,000
contacts will earn a special W4AMI 5,000 certificate.
To submit for the
award, please email me an extract from your log either
in Microsoft Excel
XLS(X) format or ADI(F) format. Either will work just
fine. Then wait for me
to get back to you notifying you to go online and
make your payment. I need
nothing from LoTW, confirmed contacts are not
an issue, this award is for
simply making a contact.
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-robert-w-barbee-jr-w4ami-award/
[ANS
thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards,
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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New
OSCAR T-Shirt Available from AMSAT Zazzle Store
Thanks to an post on
Twitter from Michael Styne, K2MTS, AMSAT is
pleased to offer a new t-shirt on
the AMSAT Zazzle Store. This t-
shirt design is available in variants
suitable for printing on either
dark or lightly colored shirts.
The
shirt features a representation of AMSAT-OSCAR 7 in orbit with the
tagline
"OSCAR - Adventure and Excitement in Space Age Communication"
This image was
used in advertisements for the 1978 ARRL book "Getting
to Know OSCAR." The
ARRL has granted AMSAT permission to republish
this classic image as a
t-shirt.
Get yours today! 25% of the purchase price goes towards
Keeping
Amateur Radio in Space.
https://www.zazzle.com/oscar_t_shirt_dark-235643945481104970
https://www.zazzle.com/oscar_t_shirt_light-235449229998854129
[ANS
thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive VP, for the
above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming
Satellite Operations
ZW8, BRAZIL (Special Event). Operators Freddy/PY3YD,
Joselito/PS8BR,
Fernando/PS8CW, Raimundo/PS8DX, Jose/PS8ET, Milton/PS8HF,
Nelson/PS8NF,
Pirajah/PS8RF, Dalton/PS8TV and Andre/PT9AL are using the
special event
callsign ZW8THANKS as a tribute to health care professionals
fighting
COVID-19. Activity will be on all bands and modes including the
satel-
lites. QSL via direct, eQSL or LoTW.
(ANS thanks the Ohio/Penn DX
Bulletin #1461 for the above information)
Due to COVID-19, there are no
other announced satellite operations at
this moment. Any roving activity of
which AMSAT becomes aware will be
posted at:
https://www.amsat.org/satellite-info/upcoming-satellite-operations/
Until
then, stay safe and keep making contacts from home.
Please submit any
additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org
[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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ARISS
News
ARISS lets students worldwide experience the excitement of
talking
directly with crew members of the International Space Station,
inspir-
ing them to pursue interests in careers in science,
technology,
engineering and math, and engaging them with radio science
technology
through amateur radio.
Northern Virginia Schools Group,
Woodbridge VA, Multi-point telebridge
contact via AB1OC is scheduled for
Thursday, April 30. The ISS call-
sign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS,
and the scheduled astronaut
is Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR. The contact is go for
13:35:00 UTC at a max-
imum elevation of 62 degrees. Stations in the eastern
U.S. should be
able to listen in on this contact on 145.80 MHz FM. A
multi-point tele-
bridge contact means that each student will be on the
telebridge from
their own home.
The ARISS team continues to test and
firm up a plan to transform ARISS
contacts and how ARISS interacts with youth
and education institutions.
ARISS will provide distance learning with every
student and staff mem-
ber in their own homes (even quarantined).
[ANS
thanks ARISS for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Hamfests,
Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Want to see AMSAT in action
or learn more about amateur radio in space?
AMSAT Ambassadors provide
presentations, demonstrate communicating
through amateur satellites, and host
information tables at club meet-
ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires,
and other events.
Due to COVID-19, many hamfest and events around the
United States have
been canceled or postponed. While we make every effort to
ensure the
information contained below is correct, there may be some that
we
missed. We wish all of you safekeeping and hope to be at a hamfest
near
you soon.
Current schedule:
June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Com, Plano,
TX
September 26, 2020 Arrowhead Radio Amateurs Club Hamfest, Superior,
WI
The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have
been
CANCELED:
May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest,
Sierra
Vista, AZ
May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest,
Prescott, AZ
May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH
A copy of the AMSAT
hamfest brochure is available for download from:
https://bit.ly/2ygVFmV This color brochure is
designed to be printed
double-sided and folded into a tri-fold
handout.
To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or
demonstration,
please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot)
org.
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for
the
above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite
Shorts From All Over
+ Diwata-2 (PO-101) has been active daily to provide
emergency access
during Covid-19 pandemic. Check https://twitter.com/Diwata2PH
For
Daily activation schedule
(ANS thanks DIWATA-2 Ground Team for the above
information)
+ On this 50th anniversary of the flight of Apollo 13, the
BBC has pro-
duced a documentary video series, "13 Minutes to the Moon,"
along
with associated web resources and podcasts. The documentary can
be
accessed worldwide at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xttx2
(ANS thanks Peter Green, G0ABI, for the above information)
+ Happy 30th
anniversary, Hubble! The Hubble Space Telescope was laun-
ched into LEO on
April 24th, 1990 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery
STS-31 launch video).
Featuring a 2.4 m mirror and optics that are
smooth to 10 nanometers (but
were in the wrong shape until corrected
by the first of five servicing
missions in 1993), Hubble takes images
of the Universe with
never-before-seen quality. The telescope may
work into the 2040s, hopefully
being joined by its more-advanced sib-
ling, the JWST, next year. Take a
moment to browse some of Hubble’s
most stunning snapshots of the Universe
at:
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/
(ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)
+ Astronauts
onboard the International Space Station have gotten a
first good look at
the controversial Starlink satellites. On April
13th, they photographed a
train of 16 Starlinks cutting through
Southern Lights over the Antarctic.
Learn more about their unique
photo + corresponding ground-based sightings
on Spaceweather.com
(ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above
information)
+ SpaceX launched 60 more spacecraft Wednesday to join the
Starlink
fleet. The successful launch Wednesday marked the 84th flight of
a
Falcon 9 rocket since June 2010. That makes SpaceX’s Falcon 9 the
most-flown orbital-class U.S. launcher currently in operation, ex-
ceeding
the 83 missions performed by the Atlas 5 rocket built by
rival United
Launch Alliance. With Wednesday’s launch, SpaceX has
delivered 422 Starlink
satellites to space. The company is seeking
regulatory approval to fly
4,400 of the satellites in the project's
first phase. SpaceX’s next
Starlink launch after Wednesday could
happen as soon as early May on
another Falcon 9 rocket mission. That
will be followed by SpaceX’s first
launch with astronauts on-board —
scheduled for May 27 — to begin a test
flight of the company’s Crew
Dragon spaceship to the International Space
Station.
(ANS thanks spaceflightnow.com for the above information)
+
A series of unusually severe spring storms parading across the south-
eastern USA had residents taking shelter this week from hail and tor-
nadoes. High above the maelstrom, sprites were dancing. Sprites are
a form
of electricity in powerful storm clouds. While regular light-
ning lances
down, sprites leap up. They can reach all the way to the
edge of space 90
km or more above Earth’s surface.
(ANS thanks Southgate ARC and
spaceweatherarchive.com for the above
information)
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/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
_______________________________________________
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-NA member? Join now to
support the amateur satellite program!
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