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
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In
this edition:
* First Element of ARISS Next Generation Radio System
Readied for
Launch on SpaceX CRS-20
* ARISS SSTV Event Planned for
December 28 - January 1
* Reminder: AMSAT CW Day on January 1
* Changes to
AMSAT TLE Distribution for December 26
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
*
Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363.01
ANS-363
AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin
363.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE December 29, 2019
To All
RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-363.01
First Element of ARISS Next
Generation Radio System Readied for
Launch on SpaceX CRS-20
During
this Holiday Season, when the spirit of giving and receiving
gifts reigns
high, ARISS received a special gift and delivered a
phenomenal gift to the
international community. This occurred on
Thursday December 19,
2019.
Our international gift to all—students, STEM education, the public
and
the amateur radio community—was the historic transfer of the
first
Interoperable Radio System (IORS) flight unit, serial number 1001,
to
NASA Johnson Space Center for launch on SpaceX CRS-20. The
special
gift received by ARISS was the approval from NASA Safety to launch
the
IORS on SpaceX CRS-20 and stow the radio system on the
International
Space Station. December 19, 2019 was truly a banner day for
ARISS!
The IORS is a foundational element of the ARISS next generation
radio
system and is an incredible engineering achievement by the
ARISS
hardware team. This first element delivery will support easier
radio
mode transitions and enable new, exciting capabilities for
hams,
students and the general public. The IORS will include a higher
power
radio, an enhanced voice repeater, updated digital packet radio
(APRS)
capabilities and slow scan television (SSTV) capabilities for both
the
US and Russian segments. The IORS consists of a special,
modified
JVCKenwood TM-D710GA transceiver, an AMSAT-developed multi
voltage
power supply and interconnecting cables.
This first flight
IORS will be installed in the ISS Columbus module.
A second flight unit is
expected to be launched sometime in 2020 for
installation in the Russian
Service module. A total of 4 flight units
and 10 total units will be built
by the ARISS hardware team to support
on-board flight operations, training,
operations planning and hardware
testing. Future upgrades and enhancements
to the next generation
system are in various stages of design &
development. These include a
repaired Ham Video system (currently planned
for launch in mid-to-late
2020), L-band (uplink) repeater, ground command
operations capability,
LimeSDR signal reception, a microwave “Ham
Communicator” and Lunar
Gateway prototype experiment.
While yesterday
was truly an historic milestone, it should be noted
that there is still much
“heavy lifting” work to be done to prepare
the IORS for Operations on ISS.
ARISS has 92 engineering requirements
and our operations Phase III safety
review to complete. The space
agencies take a position of “Trust but
Verify.” Thus, these
engineering and safety “verifications” all need to be
closed out
before the IORS can be unstowed and turned on. This will be the
ARISS
hardware team’s focus over the next few months.
Also, please
remember that ARISS is almost entirely run by volunteers.
So donations to the
ARISS program for next generation hardware devel-
opments, operations,
education and administrative functions are always
welcome. Please go to https://www.ariss.org/donate.html
if you want
to contribute to our efforts!
In closing, ARISS would like
to thank the outstanding contributions of
the IORS hardware development team
on an incredible radio system.
ARISS would like to thank our sponsors and
donors for helping us
realize the IORS hardware systems. On behalf of the
ARISS team, we
would like to wish you all a joyful and prosperous Holiday
Season —
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!!
Ad
Astra! To the Stars!
73,
Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
ARISS International
Chair
AMSAT V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs
[ANS thanks Frank
Bauer, KA3HDO, AMSAT Vice President - Human Space-
flight and ARISS
International Chair 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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ARISS
SSTV Event Planned for December 28 - January 1
ARISS is planning an SSTV
event featuring commemorative images. This
event is currently scheduled to
begin on December 28, 2019 at 11:00
UTC and ends at 18:20 UTC on January 1,
2020. Please make note that
sometimes changes may occur in the crew work
schedule that could
affect our SSTV transmission dates and times, so
frequently check our
ARISS Facebook and Twitter accounts shown below for any
updates before
and throughout the event.
Transmissions will be sent at
145.800 MHz FM in the SSTV mode PD-120.
Once received, images can be posted
and viewed by the public at
http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php
and you can
receive a special SSTV ARISS Award for posting your image.
See
https://ariss.pzk.org.pl/sstv/ for
details. Also for simplicity, we
have added a new information tab for SSTV
events, under the General
Contacts pulldown menu at www.ariss.org .
[ANS thanks Dave Jordan,
AA4KN, ARISS Public Relations for the
above
information]
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Reminder:
AMSAT CW Day on January 1
You are cordially invited to take part in
AMSAT CW Activity Day 2020
sponsored by AMSAT for all radio amateurs
throughout the world. The
2020 event will be held in memory of Larry Brown,
W7LB, and
Keith Pugh, W5IU. Among their many contributions to AMSAT, they
were
the AMSAT 20-meter net for many years.
Participation is easy.
Just operate CW through any Amateur Radio
satellite on 1 January 2020. Use
of straight keys or bugs is
encouraged but not required. If you use AO-7,
please observe the QRP
rules currently in effect for that 45-year-old
satellite. May it be
with us for many years to come!
[ANS thanks
Raphael Soifer, W2RS, AMSAT Senior Advisor 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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Changes
to AMSAT TLE Distribution for December 26
This week's AMSAT TLE
distribution reflects the following two
satellite name changes per ANS
Bulletin 356.01 dated December 22,
2019:
SMOG-P (Cat. ID 44832) is now
MO-105 (Magyar-OSCAR 105) and ATL-1
(Cat. ID 44830) is now MO-106
(Magyar-OSCAR 106).
(Per Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA AMSAT VP Operations /
OSCAR Number
Administrator)
The following Amateur Radio satellite
has been added to this week's
TLE distribution:
FloripaSat 1 - NORAD
CAT ID 44830 (Taiyuan Space Center launch,
12/20/2019).
(Thanks to
Nico Janseen, PA0DLO, for satellite identification.)
CAS-6 was launched
as a piggyback satellite on TIANQIN-1 on December
20, 2019 via a CZ-4B launch
vehicle from Taiyuan Satellite Launch
Center. Still awaiting a satellite
signal, thus the CAT ID has not
been positively identified as yet. More
later.
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager 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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Donate
to AMSAT Tax-Free From Your IRA
Are you over 70-1/2 years of age and need
to meet your IRA's Required
Minimum Distribution for 2019? Consider making a
donation to AMSAT!
Under the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of
2015, individuals
over 70-1/2 years of age may make direct transfers of up to
$100,000
per year from a traditional IRA to an eligible charity
without
increasing their taxable income. Consult your tax advisor
or
accountant to make certain you are eligible.
AMSAT is a 501(c)(3)
not-for-profit educational and scientific
organization whose purpose is to
design, construct, launch, and
operate satellites in space and to provide the
support needed to
encourage amateurs to utilize these resources. AMSAT's
federal tax ID
is
52-0888529.
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Upcoming
Satellite Operations
Satellite Shorts:
Dec 27-30 EM90 N4DCW –
vacation style (Twitter: @MWimages)
Dec 27-30 EL86 K4WPX FM
Dec 30 EM94
(overnight) – vacation style (Twitter: @MWimages)
Dec 30-Jan 01 EL87/88 K4WPX
FM
Jan 02 EM58/68 WB9VPG Midday passes on AO-91/92
Wyoming
(DN71,DN72,DN81,DN82) December 31, 2019
Doug, N6UA, and RJ, WY7AA are
teaming up with special guest operator
Ron, AD0DX, to activate the DN71,
DN72, DN81, DN82 grid corner on
December 31st. Plan is to be there for the
morning FM passes and stay
until they get bored. FM and
SSB.
Mississippi River Delta (EL58) January 4, 2019.
Ron AD0DX, Brian
KG5GJT, and Robert KE4AL will operate as W5M/mm from
the mouth of the
Mississippi River (EL58) on January 4th. This will be
a 6-hour activation
from approximately 1430z to 2030z, on FM and
linear
satellites.
Further information will be posted as it comes
available.
Labrador (GO11 +) January 19-27, 2019
Chris VE3FU, Dave
VE9CB, and Frank VO1HP will be active as VO2AC in
the 2020 CQ160 CW contest,
January 24-26, from Point Armour
Lighthouse, in Labrador. If time permits
before the contest, they may
be active on FM satellites from GO11 as VO2AC or
VO2AAA.
Depending on weather and timing of passes, you might catch them
on FM
satellites as they make their way from FO93 to GO-11, passing
through
FO92, GO02, GO13, GO12, and GO22 along the way, but no promises.
They
will also make the reverse trek on January 27.
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
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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Satellite
Shorts From All Over
+ www.zarya.info
(@Zarya_Info) reports that on Dec 18 at ~01:00 UTC,
the Meteor M2-2
meteorological satellite collided with an item of
space debris and entered a
tumble. This event reduced orbit SMA by 1
km and height from 813 x 815 km to
811 x 814 km. The satellite is now
stabilized and communicating. Damage is
being assessed.
+ Mike Thomas, KB8BMY, has made a video for those of you
wanting to
take the next step to Linear Ham Radio Satellites. He shows how he
put
his station together: My Linear Satellite Setup / KB8BMY / How to
Set
Up a Portable Linear Station:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrQ14Cs9ia4&feature=youtu.be
+
Satellite antennas don't need to be very high, but tower safety is
always a
good topic for amateurs: https://zerofalls.org/
+ Ohio/Penn DX
Bulletin #1445 listed these two satellite activations:
7X, ALGERIA.
Members of the "Association des Radio Amateurs Tunisiens"
(ARAT) are
traveling to Algeria to conduct a joint Low Bands DX-
pedition with five
members of the "Amateurs Radio Algeriens" (ARA)
between December 28th and
January 2nd (2020). The team is led by Afif/
7X2RO and Ash/3V8SS/KF5EYY, and
will also includes Ahmed/3V1B/KG5OUE
(22 years), Marwa/3V8CB (24 years, YL),
Mohamed/7X3TL (27 years),
Mohamed/7X5FG, Redha/7X5QB and
Abdelghani/7X2TT/M0NPT. The operators
will be focusing on working as many
stations as possible on 160 and 80
meters as well as the other HF bands and
Satellites. Modes will be CW/
SSB/FT8. QSL via 7X2RO and LoTW.
There
will be ClubLog Live Streaming. For more details on how to help
and/or LF
skeds, E-mail Ash at: ash.kf5eyy at gmail.com
Your financial support will be
used to cover youngsters' costs.
VO2, CANADA (Zone 2). Operators
Chris/VE3FU (VO2AC), Frank/VO1HP and
Dave/VE9CB (VO2AAA) will be active as
VO2AC during the 2020 CQWW 160M
CW Contest (January 24-26th) from the Point
Amour Lighthouse, the
tallest lighthouse in Atlantic Canada, on the south
coast of the rare
Labrador (LB) multiplier. Point Amour is located in the
southeast part
of CQ Zone 2, and has a salt water path from NE clockwise
through SW.
The team will be putting in a serious Multi-Op/High-Power effort
as
VO2AC. Expect some pre contest activity as VO2AC, VO1HP/VO2 and
VO2AAA
on 160m as they get their wire vertical array and beverage
working;
they will especially be looking for JA/Asia on CW and FT8. If
time
permits, they may also be active before the contest on 80m, 60m,
40m
and the FM satellites (AO-85, AO-91 and AO-92) from Grid
GO11.
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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,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm at
amsat dot org
_______________________________________________
Via the ANS
mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
