Date: April 12th 2009

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-102

ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation ANS 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

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:

ans-editor@amsat org

In this edition: * Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, wins 2009 Hamvention Special Achievement Award * AMSAT Forum at Dayton Hamvention * KiwiSat Status Update * Further Delays for SumbandilaSat Launch * Satellite Shorts From All Over * Wind Farm interference * Busy Week of Successful ARISS Contacts * ARISS Status - 06 April 2009

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-102 Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, wins 2009 Hamvention Special Achievement Award

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 102 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD April 12, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-102

Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, is a legendary video game programmer/designer and ham radio operator who was the sixth private citizen to fly to the International Space Station (ISS)

Like his father, Owen Garriott, W5LFL, who made history as the first ham to communicate from space with radio amateurs during the STS-9 Space Shuttle mission, Richard was a ham radio pathfinder in his own right through on-orbit experimentation, implementation of new capabilities, extensive operations using many diverse operations modes, and phenomenal educational outreach initiatives that inspired and transformed the lives of tens of thousands students, worldwide

Garriott was the most prolific ham radio operator to fly on a short duration (<15 day) mission During his 10 day stay on the ISS over 500 2-way voice QSOs were conducted, over a thousand SSTV images were down linked He communicated with tens of thousands of students in schools around the world Garriott also had numerous random chats with scouts world-wide as part of the amateur radio Jamboree on the Air (JOTA)

HamventionÃ‚Â® Chairman Carl Rose, K8CPR, praised the winners, saying: Ã‚Â“On behalf of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association and HamventionÃ‚Â® 2009 it is my pleasure to congratulate this yearÃ‚Â’s Award Winners Their outstanding contributions and the many years of service exemplify what the amateur radio service is "

Richard will also be the keynote speaker at the AMSAT/TAPR Banquet during Hamvention 2009 The Banquet will be on Friday evening, 15 May 2009 There is limited seating for the banquet, and tickets may be purchased for $30 on-line at the AMSAT store or by contacting Martha at the AMSAT office

Richard will give a short presentation at the AMSAT Forum on Saturday morning, and visit the AMSAT & ARRL booths

[ANS thanks The Dayton Amateur Radio Association for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-102 AMSAT Forum at Dayton Hamvention

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 102 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD April 12, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-102

The AMSAT Forum at the 2009 Dayton Hamvention will be on Saturday, 16 May from 11:15 to 13:30 in Room 5

The speakers and their topics at this year's forum are listed below, the order will probably change The Hamvention site now has the entire list of Forums and times posted on their web site

AMSAT Forum Moderator: Rick Hambly, W2GPS AMSAT Past President and current member of the Board of Directors

Richard Garriott, W5WKQ On October 12, 2008 Richard Garriott launched into space aboard Soyuz TMA 13 and became the first second generation american in space Richard's father Owen is a NASA astronaut and carried the first ham radio to orbit on his second flight in 1983 aboard the 9th shuttle flight Richard will touch on his training, the flight and his impressions from space, and highlight his ham radio activities

Barry Baines, WD4ASW AMSAT President "AMSAT Status Report: What is happening with AMSAT?" Barry will highlight current activities within AMSAT and discuss some of the challenges facing the organization

Gould Smith, WA4SXM, AMSAT VP-Member & User Services and SuitSat-2 Systems Engineer "SuitSat-2 Status Report" Gould will provide an overview of AMSAT's current engineering project which is projected being developed for ARISS to be shipped to Russia this Fall for eventual placement on the International Space Station and subsequent release into space

Drew Glasbrener, KO4MA, AMSAT VP-Operations , "AMSAT Satellite Operations Update" which will provide an overview of current satellite operations as well as discuss future satellite opportunities currently under consideration

Will Marchant, KC6ROL, AMSAT VP-Human Space Flight " "A Ham Radio Operator's View of ARISS" Will will outline several new initiatives under development for Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) that will interest amateur radio operators

Lou McFadin, W5DID, ARISS Hardware Manager "Antennas for the Columbus Module" Lou will discuss the latest piece of amateur radio equipment to be shipped to the European Space Agency for deployment to the ISS and explain the significance of this development

[ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-102 KiwiSat Status Update

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 102 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD April 12, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-102

In a gesture of support for KiwiSAT the Auckland VHF Group (NZART Branch 66) have donated $1000 for the purchase of the special Aluminium blocks from which the very structure of KiwiSAT will be milled For maximum stability, light weight and overall integrity, the frame of our satellite will be milled from solid blocks of Aluminium

Over the next few weeks KiwiSAT will finally start to take shape There is much work to be done but we now making "solid" progress

Mike Jack of Stanier Engineering, a small specialist precision engineering company based in Auckland, is now milling the main frame from those solid blocks (above) The first tray is to hand and looking great Strength and precision are two major factors as this first plate, the foundation stone for the final structure, will carry the whole load at launch

We are most grateful to Mike for the use of his costly machinery and for donating his very valuable time to this project

Many more details and video of the milling process are available on the KiwiSat web site http://kiwisat org/index html

[ANS thanks AMSAT-ZL for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-102 Further Delays for SumbandilaSat Launch

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 102 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD April 12, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-102

Launch date is now only late July 2009

In early January the Department of Science and Technology signed the SumbandilaSat launch contract with Roscosmos setting the launch date at 25 March 2009 This date was later postponed till May but the latest is a further postponement till late July No reasons have been given However rumors have it that one of the main payloads is delayed

The fact that launch will now take place on a Soyuz launcher at Baikonur as opposed to the previous Shtil from a submarine, ensured that a new Interface Control Document (ICD) had to be issued This meant that each element of the new ICD had to be check against the previous one and an impact report on the differences had to be compiled Normally the base plate modifications, various types of vibration, and some electrical issues from the basis of the changes but the ICD is very comprehensive and contains all elements related to on-site safety

From 25 August 2008 to the present time SunSpace, with permission from the DST and under contract to Stellenbosch University, conducted systems tests at ISSA to ensure that the satellite is launch-ready after its been moth balled for more than two years All the individual systems have been declared functional and the only outstanding items are some control system software updates caused by the change in orbit parameter from South-North to North-South The updates have been tested, work and will be uploaded within the week Final mission scenario testing will then be carried out and is expected to be successful

[ANS thanks SA AMSAT for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-102 Satellite Shorts From All Over

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 102 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD April 12, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-102

The Hudson Valley Satcom group Net meets Thursdays at 8 PM EST The Echolink node is n2eyh-l You are invited to join and share your satellite knowledge (via WA2AQH)
Ed, WA4SWJ, AMSAT Journal Editor reports that the March/April issue of the Journal has been uploaded to the printer You should have it in your hands in 2-3 weeks
Ciaran, M0XTD has posted the video of the UK contact with Charles Simonyi from March 30 at: http://www it-sparkles co uk/ARISS/Parkside aspx - there are links to wmv, mov, mp4 and mpeg versions Howard G6LVB has also made his video available at: http://www g6lvb com/ParksideCut wmv (138MB)
Neven, 9A5YY plans to operate on AO-51, AO-27 and SO-50 with his handheld Yaesu VX-7R and AL-800 antenna during his stay in Peru April 11-19 Listen for the callsigns 9A5YY/OA4 from Lima and as 9A5YY/OA7 from Cuzco
The Teresina DX Group is preparing for the PS8DX DXpedition to Brazil's Canary Island (IOTA-072) on the coast of Piaui, Brazil in grid GI97bf Dates of operation will be between April 29 to May 3 Satellite operation will include AO-7, FO-29, AO-51, VO-52, SO-50 and ISS if available Team members include PS8BBC, PS8DX, PS8ET, PS8FSM, PS8HF, PS8JN, PS8NF, PS8PY, PS8RF,PS8TV

[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-102 Wind Farm interference

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 102 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD April 12, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-102

The UK regulator, Ofcom, has published a document about the effects of interference to UHF & SHF communications by Wind Farms

The report, by ERA Technology Ltd and Aegis Systems Ltd, describes a technical study in which a series of measurements were carried out with regard to the presence of wind turbines near to wireless services The purpose of the study was to enhance understanding of the effects of wind turbines near to wireless services

Some of their findings include:

A single turbine can produce measured fades as large as 3 dB for UHF scanning telemetry links and 2 dB for fixed links operating between 1 5 and 18 GHz, when the turbine is lying on the transmitter-receiver path
A wind farm (with seventeen turbines) can produce measured fades as large as 10 to 15 dB for 1% of the time when the wind farm is lying on the transmitter-receiver path

The full report in PDF Format is available: http://www ofcom org uk/radiocomms/ifi/licensing/classes/ fixed/Windfarms/rf_measurement/windfarm_report pdf

[ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-102 Busy Week of Successful ARISS Contacts

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 102 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD April 12, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-102

U K Students Contact the ISS

On Monday, March 30, students from Parkside Community College in Cambridge, U K took part in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP/HA5SIK answered 17 questions put to him by the students as an audience of approximately 200 watched British Amateur Television Club (BATC) streamed video of the event on its Web site

U S Girls Speak with Spaceflight Participant via Radio

The GirlÃ‚Â’s Middle School (GMS) in Mountain View, California experienced a successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Monday, March 30 via telebridge station K6DUE in Maryland Twenty girls asked one question each of Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP/HA5SIK as sixty students looked on The audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers and received 15 connections from stations in the U S , Poland, Italy, Germany, England, Canada and Brazil

ISS Radio Contact with Japanese Students

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact took place on Tuesday, March 31 between Mike Fincke, KE5AIT and students from Science Dream Association (SDA) in Kobe-city, Japan The original scheduled pass was too low for a successful contact Mike Fincke and Koichi Wakata made a connection on the following pass and Fincke was able to answer 22 questions before the ISS went over the horizon An audience of approximately 100 people attended the event and four newspapers provided media coverage

ARISS Contact with Puerto Rican Students

On Tuesday, March 31, students attending Marcelino Canino Canino Middle School in Dorado, Puerto Rico participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP/HA5SIK Simonyi answered all 15 questions posed to him by the children Approximately 300 students and 60 adults, including the Secretary of Education, were present for the event There was no media coverage, but the school plans to provide television stations with a DVD of the contact Marcelino is a 2005 NASA Explorer School (NES)

Australian Students Question Astronaut

Kalori Catholic School students in Wallaroo, Australia spoke with Mike Fincke, KE5AIT on Wednesday, April 1 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was facilitated by telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii Students were able to have all seventeen questions answered The audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers and received six connections from stations in England, Germany, Switzerland, and the U S

Florida Students Speak with Spaceflight Participant

Milwee Middle School students in Longwood, Florida spoke with Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP/HA5SIK on Wednesday, April 1 This Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was made possible through telebridge station ON4ISS in Belgium The students were able to ask 11 questions of the spaceflight participant before the ISS went over the horizon The audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers and received 10 connections from stations located in Belgium, England, Germany, Switzerland and the U S

Japanese Students Radio ISS

On Thursday, April 2, students from Miyahara Elementary School in Saitama, Japan participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact Fourteen students asked one question each of Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA in front of an audience of 450 Media coverage included two television stations, including NHK (The Japan Broadcasting Corporation), seven newspapers and two magazines

ARISS Ã‚Â– France Contact Successful

Albert Camus and Jules Verne Elementary Schools in Viry ChÃƒÂ¢tillon, France experienced a joint Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, April 2 Mike Fincke, KE5AIT answered 16 questions posed to him by the students Approximately 150 were present for the event including the mayor of Viry-Chatillon and Mr Alberto Novelli, representing ESA Local newspapers and "Le Parisien" reported the news The audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers and received three connections from stations in the U S , China and England

This was the last contact of Expedition 18 and Mike FinckeÃ‚Â’s 40th contact during this increment

Carl Sandburg Elementary Participates in ARISS Contact

On Thursday, April 1, students attending Carl Sandburg Elementary School in Kirkland, Washington experienced an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact which was made possible through telebridge station W6SRJ in California Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP/HA5SIK answered the 20 questions put to him by the students An audience of approximately 75 students, teachers and parents were present for the contact The audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers and received ten connections from stations located in England, New Zealand, Turkey and the U S

King-TV posted an article covering the event See: http://www king5 com/localnews/stories/NW_040209EDB-space-station-simonyi-KC 98b4140c html

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-102 ARISS Status - 06 April 2009

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 102 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD April 12, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-102

ARISS News on Amateur Radio Newsline

On April 3, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1651 ran 2 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) news items The first, Ã‚Â“Names in the News: Dayton Hamvention Announces 2009 Award Winners,Ã‚Â” covers Richard Garriott as the Special Achievement Award recipient The second item, Ã‚Â“Ham Radio in Space: KE7KDP Again Operating from the ISS,Ã‚Â” is about Charles SimonyiÃ‚Â’s mission, including his ARISS school contacts See: ftp://ftp arnewsline org/quincy/News/news txt

Charles in Space Web Site

The Charles in Space Web site has a section where the public has posted space related questions concerning CharlesÃ‚Â’ current mission and his Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) activities To view the questions and answers, see: http://www charlesinspace com/index cfm?fuseaction=Read_the_Answers welcome#

General Contacts and SSTV

Over the past week, Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP/HA5SIK made several general contacts with ground stations around the world including those in the U S , Canada, Australia, Hungary and Venezuela He also transmitted Slow Scan Television (SSTV) images using the VC-H1 Images may be viewed on the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) SSTV gallery site: http://www amsat org/amsat/ariss/SSTV/

Astronaut Training Status

On Monday, March 30, the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) team provided training to Mike Fossum to prepare him for the ham radio licensing exam ARISS member Kenneth Ransom is also working with other astronauts from Expeditions 25 - 28 to get them trained and licensed

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, 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 additional benefits Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office

73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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