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CX2SA > SAT 19.01.20 03:45z 429 Lines 18850 Bytes #999 (0) @ AMSAT
BID : ANS-019.01
Read: GUEST
Subj: ANS-019 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
Path: HB9ON<IW2OHX<IR2UBX<DB0RES<ON0AR<OZ5BBS<CX2SA
Sent: 200119/0340Z @:CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM #:23231 [Salto] FBB7.00e $:ANS-019.01
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM
To : SAT@AMSAT
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 019.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
January 19, 2020
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-019.01
GOLF-TEE Reaches Major Milestone
A group of GOLF-TEE (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint - Technology
Evaluation Environment) satellite prototype boards transmitted telemetry
for the first time on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. The boards are laid out
on a bench as a "flat-sat" with interconnecting wires, bench power
supplies, and a dummy load on the transmitter. The interconnected boards
include:
- An early RT-IHU (Radiation Tolerant Internal Housekeeping Unit
(i.e. computer) prototype,
- A CIU (Control Interface Unit) prototype, and
- A set of spare boards from HuskySat-1 that act as prototypes for
the LIHU (Legacy IHU) and legacy VHF/UHF RF components.
Now that the development team has reached this point, it has RF to use as
a basis for developing a GOLF-TEE decoder for FoxTelem, the ground
telemetry receiver software.
Thousands of hours of work by many AMSAT volunteers have gone into the
hardware and software that got GOLF-TEE this far, with much work yet to
be done before flight units are ready.
GOLF-TEE is designed as a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) testbed for technologies
necessary for a successful CubeSat mission to a wide variety of orbits,
including MEO(Medium Earth Orbit) and HEO (High Earth Orbit).
To help support the GOLF program, please consider volunteering or
donating today.
https://www.amsat.org/volunteer-for-amsat/
https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/
[ANS thanks Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, AMSAT Flight Software, and the entire
GOLF team for the above information]
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ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals February 1, 2020 to March
31, 2020
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 is happy to announce a proposal
window which will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held
between January 2021 and June 2021. 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 proposal window for contacts between January 2021. and June 2021 will
open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31. 2020. Proposal
information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS
Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on two different date and
times. The first is at January 23 at 2100 ET and the second is at January
27 at 1800 ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so
choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to
sign up is https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2020.eventbrite.com
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.
For 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.us.education@gmail.com .
[ANS thanks ARISS 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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Satellite Status and Tracking API's Added to AMSAT Website
Thanks to an initiative by Heimir, W1ANT, AMSAT added Application
Programming Interfaces (APIs) to the AMSAT web site to make it easy for
developers to write apps for mobile devices and the Internet of Things
(IoT). For example, the satellite status page www.amsat.org/status does
not work well on small screens. By accessing the status data directly
developers can easily present the
data in a way appropriate for their screens.
These APIs also make it easy for IoT homebrewers to do things like
build next pass reminder gizmos so they can beep out notices in CW.
The developers have set a goal of February 15, 2020 to finalize the
APIs, and consider them operational on March 1, 2020. Developers
are encouraged to send suggestions or questions to
www.amsat.org/webmaster-contact/ For details of API use
visit www.amsat.org/status/api/ and www.amsat.org/track/api/
[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P for the above information.]
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Qarman Beacon Telemetry Information Released
QARMAN, a nano-satellite designed and built at VKI, was launched to the
International Space Station on December 5, 2019. Deployed is expected to
take place in the week of February 12, 2020.
QARMAN (Qubesat for Aerothermodynamic Research and Measurements on
AblatioN) is the world's first CubeSat designed to survive atmospheric
re-entry. Work on it started in 2013 at the von Karman Institute for
Fluid Dynamics (VKI).
The aim of the QARMAN mission is to demonstrate the usability of a
CubeSat platform as an atmospheric entry vehicle. Spacecraft descending
towards a planet with an atmosphere experience very harsh environment
including extreme temperatures (several thousand degrees).
Information about Qarman's 437.350 MHz 9600 bps GMSK AX.25 beacon has now
been released by the team.
Download the Qarman Beacon Definition QARMAN_BCNdef_v1.1 at
https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/qarman_bcndef_v1.1.pdf
Download the Beacon Decoder spreadsheet QARMAN_BCNdecoder at
https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/qarman_bcndecoder.xlsx
Reports can be sent to operations@qarman.eu
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK 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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China Telecoms Regulator Proposing to Delete Some Current Amateur
Allocations
China's telecommunications regulator has proposed amending the Measures
for the Administration of Amateur Radio Stations, and some amateur bands
are in danger of being eliminated. Lide Zhang, BI8CKU, told ARRL that the
proposal would prohibit amateur operation on the 2200-meter band as well
as on 146 - 148 MHz, 1260 - 1300 MHz, 3400 - 3500 MHz, 5650 - 5725 MHz,
and all bands above 10 GHz.
Radio communications engineer and Chinese Amateur Satellite Group
(CAMSAT) CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, told ARRL that government efforts to
eliminate some amateur bands are nothing new, but proposals that have
been aired for a while now are on the regulatory agency's schedule.
Kung said he does not anticipate that all of the bands proposed will be
taken away, but he conceded that the climate will "undoubtedly"
become increasingly more dangerous for China's amateur radio community.
"The attempt to crowd out the amateur radio bands has a long history
throughout the world," he said, "but it may never have become so urgent
for the amateur radio community as it is today. We all understand that
radio spectrum resources have become a bottleneck for further
development." He said today's radio communication industry "is working
hard to share spectrum resources." Kung characterized spectrum as "the
soil on which amateur radio depends."
[ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.]
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Memorial Service for Brian Kantor, WB6CYT
Phil Karn, KA9Q shares the following announcement:
"As you know, Brian Kantor, WB6CYT passed away suddenly on November 21,
2019. We will hold a memorial service for Brian on Saturday, Feb 1 2020
at 1:30 PM in La Jolla, CA (part of San Diego).
Please see this link for details:
https://tinyurl.com/ANS-019-Kantor-Memorial
"Please bring any photos, mementos and (above all) stories and anecdotes
about Brian to share. Brian wasn't exactly a highly formal person who
stood on ceremony, so we'll keep this informal. If you have a story to
tell, it's up to you whether you stand up and relate it to the whole
group or just a few others at a time. There will be plenty of time for
both.
"Everyone who knew Brian is welcome. His friendships spanned at least
three distinct social circles, and I know he'd be very happy to see
everyone meet and enjoy everyone else's company. Even if he'd be a little
embarrassed that we were doing it in his honor.
"Free snacks and refreshments will be provided, so please RSVP through
the evite link so we can tell the hotel how much to make available. If
you have special dietary needs, please say so; the hotel has a menu we
can choose from.
"Please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested.
Hope to see you on the 1st."
[ANS thanks Phil Karn, KA9Q 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
New Orleans, LA (EL49, EL58, EM59, EM40, EM50, EM60) January 14 -
February 1, 2020 Adam, KC3OBS, will be roving EM40, EM50, EL49, EL59,
January 14 - Feb 1. In between, Adam will be EL58, January 18 or 19
depending on weather, and in EM60 January 29. Adam will announce passes
and updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparky_husky
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.
Montserrat (FK86) January 26 - February 2, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in
Montserrat 26 January until 2 February, operating under the call sign
VP2MCV on FM Sats. QSL via LOTW.
Antigua (FK97) February 2 - 9, 2020
Mel, W8MV, will be in Antigua 2-9 February. Mel is waiting for his
operating license. Will update as soon as it arrives. FM only.
QSL via LOTW
Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 - 17, 2020 Members of
Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico,
between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team
Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Rey/XE1SRD and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on
80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest
(February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY.
Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also
TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51.
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
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.]
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ARISS News
(Editor's Note: See school contact opportunity story above.)
+ Upcoming Contacts
Morita Junior High School, Fukui, Japan, direct via 8J9MO The ISS
callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is
Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 08:00:46 UTC 27
deg
Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS
callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is
Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 17:21:36 UTC 32
deg
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N 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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Shorts from All Over
+ ARISS-US Educators Review Processes for US Proposal Window
A team of educators who are members of the ARISS-US Education Committee
is finalizing the last few processes related to the late
2019 ARISS-US Proposal Window. The team had ranked the education
proposals and then sent a list to the ARISS-US leaders of the top schools
and education groups recommended for hosting an ARISS contact. A news
release is in draft stage. The organizations selected will be in the
queue for scheduled ARISS contacts during the second half of 2020. A new
ARISS-US Proposal Window will open soon and details on this will be
forthcoming.
[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.]
+ WIA 2020 Annual Conference Presentations
The Wireless Institute of Australia Annual Conference will be held in
Hobart, Tasmania May 8-10 2020 and registrations are open.
On the Saturday afternoon a wide range of presentations are organized to
showcase the conference theme which is the "Antarctic Gateway".
Following lunch there will be two presentation streams which can be
categorized as the "Antarctic" stream and the "Radio" stream.
Complete information can be viewed at:
https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2020/20200111-3/index.php
[ANS thanks the Wireless Institute of Australia for the above
information.]
+ AMSAT Argentina Celebrates LO-19 30th Anniversary
On Feb-22-1990 LUSAT/LO-19 was launched along with AO-16, DO-17,
WO-18, UO-14 & UO-15. It was the first Argentina Satellite, and one
of first to use PACSAT protocol. LUSAT is still calling home with
its carrier at +/-437.125.
Members of AMSAT Argentina (LU7AA) celebrate the 30th anniversary of
the LUSAT (LO-19) satellite between Jan. 18 and 26 on HF on SSB,
FT8, CW. An award is available as well. QSL via LU7AA (d), eQSL.
Find complete information at:
http://lu4aao.org/lu7aa/cert_30_aniv_lusat_2020.htm and
http://amsat.org.ar/certlusat30.htm
[ANS thanks the DARC DX Newsletter and AMSAT-LU for the above
information.]
+ AMSAT-SA Announces A New Date Fre Their Space Symposium
The annual AMSAT SA Space symposium date has changed to
Saturday, 11 July 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. Prospective authors are invited to
propose other papers by submitting a brief synopsis to
admin@amsatsa.org.za before 28 February 2020.
+ Cardiff Microwave Roundtable Saturday, March 7, 2020
The Cardiff University ARS will host a meeting of the UK Microwave
Group on Saturday March 7, 2020 at our campus in Cardiff. This one
day event is a mix of talks, measurements, and socializing about
activities in the GHz frequencies.
GNU Radio Workshop
On the following day, Sunday March 8, there will be a hands on
Introduction to GNU Radio and Software Defined Radio. More info
coming soon, please send an email to officers@cardiffars.org.uk
if you are interested.
[ANS thanks the UK Microwave Group for the above information.]
+ Lockheed Martin Launches First Smart Satellite Enabling Space
Mesh Networking
Recently, Lockheed Martin launched the Pony Express 1 mission as a
hosted payload on Tyvak-0129, a next-generation Tyvak 6U spacecraft.
Pony Express 1, an example of rapid prototyping, was developed, built
and integrated in nine months. Some of the key technologies being
flight-tested include:
- Software validates advanced adaptive mesh communications between
satellites, shared processing capabilities, and can take advantage,
of sensors aboard other smart satellites,
- A software-defined radio that allows for high-bandwidth hosting of
multiple RF applications, store-and-forward RF collection, data
compression, digital signal processing and waveform transmission,
- 3D-printed wideband antenna housing.
Read the full story at
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=55121
[ANS thanks Spaceref.com for the above information.]
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