AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-192

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

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In this edition: * NASA Releases Videogame Moonbase Alpha * Phase-3E News * Amateur satellite to investigate power line interference * GO-32 Non-operational * SO-67 Operation Temporally Suspended * July 2010 AO-51 Schedule * July 12-16 ARRL Teacher's Institute on the Satellites * STudSat Launch * ARISS Status - July 5, 2010

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-192 01 NASA Releases Videogame Moonbase Alpha

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 192 01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD July 11, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-192 01

NASA Releases Videogame Moonbase Alpha

This week the MoonBaseAlphaGame com and the MoonDaily com web sites report that a free new online game, "Moonbase Alpha" has been released by NASA

"Moonbase Alpha" allows players to join an exploration team in a futur- istic 3D settlement on the south pole of the Moon where you assume the exciting role of an astronaut working to further human expansion and research," NASA said in an explanation of the game

"Returning from a research expedition, you witness a meteorite impact that cripples the life support capability of the settlement With pre- cious minutes ticking away, you and your team must repair and replace equipment in order to restore the oxygen production to the settlement To accomplish their mission, players use an interactive command center, lunar rover and mobile robotic repair units", NASA said

Moonbase Alpha can be played by one or up to six players NASA said it is a precursor to a planned NASA-based "multiplayer online game project " The game is available from the MoonbaseAlphaGame com web page

[ANS thanks MoonDaily com and NASA for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-192 02 Phase-3E News

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 192 02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD July 11, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-192 02

AMSAT-DL Meets With Germany's Space Agency

An earlier report by Achim Vollhardt, DH2VA, from the AMSAT-DL Annual General Meeting 2010 discussed the joint feasibility study by AMSAT-DL and DLR for lunar and Mars missions DLR is Germany's national research center for aeronautics and space

AMSAT-DL board members spent two weeks in the CEF (Concurrent Engineering Facility) of DLR in Bremen Despite different views on the technical project management Dr Achim Vollhardt described cooperation with the staff of the DLR as very constructive and mutually very useful

The results of the study were presented in early May 2010 in a final presentation at the DLR in Cologne Attendees included repre- sentatives of the DLR program Directorate, Peter Guelzow, DB2OS, and Hartmut Paesler, DL1YDD The results were received by all parti- cipants as very positive and leading to further cooperation with the DLR AMSAT-DL noted this was the first time the technical feasibility of their P5E Mars mission was confirmed by an independent team of experts

Peter Guelzow sees the results of the study and the dialogue with politicians as an important foundation to the completion of P3E and as a strong argument for future negotiations with potential donors and launch operators

[ANS thanks the SouthgateARC web site for the above information]

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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-192 03 Amateur satellite to investigate power line interference

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 192 03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD July 11, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-192 03

Amateur satellite to investigate power line interference Hans van de Groenendaal ZS6AKV will be giving a presentation on South Africa's first CubeSat at the AMSAT-UK Colloquium in Guildford, England, July 31- Aug 1

The world has experienced a long solar minimum which means that ionospheric communication had been very limited and for a few years was almost exclusively the domain of the commercial broadcasters running Megawatts

HF radio communication is very susceptible to noise levels that are created by power lines, electrical installations and overhead lines used by trains and busses and power line telecommunication systems If fact today there are many installation that do not necessarily comply with internationally agreed emission standards With increasing solar activity interference signals are propagated over large areas and will interfere with HF communication

The important mission of the SA AMSAT CubeSat is to measure the High Frequency noise levels over South Africa and report these measurement back to a ground station for analysis and action to reduce these unwanted signals The information from the tiny satellite will identify the areas where the HF frequency polluters are situated and will help in reducing or eliminating the source

It is also hoped to include a 30 kHz linear transponder and an Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) in the CubeSat

AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium, Guildford July 31 - Aug 1 http://www uk amsat org/colloquium/

[ANS thanks Southgate for the above information]

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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-192 04 GO-32 Non-operational

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 192 04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD July 11, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-192 04

Hi All, I have received the UK copy of Oscar news and there is an article stating that GO-32 is now non-operational and has completed its 11 year mission successful However, due to the degraded state of the solar panels it cannot keep the software in a stable condition

The ground operating station has asked that we mark this satellite as no longer able to support any continued operation

It's a shame to hear as this was a great strong satellite for operating APRS on

[ANS thanks Chris, M0DQO, for the above information]

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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-192 05 SO-67 Operation Temporally Suspended

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 192 05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD July 11, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-192 05

Sumbandilasat SO-67 Operation Temporally Suspended

News posted on the SA-AMSAT web page (http://www amsatsa org za/) reports, "Due to the erratic operation of the onboard computer, SO67 operations have been suspended while the ground station inves- tigates the problem It is expected that recent changes in the soft- ware that operates the amateur payload could be the cause "

SA AMSAT will advise the amateur world when operation will be resumed

SA AMSAT requested, "Once the green light is given, requests for opera- tion over your area should be sent to saamsat@intekom co za by Mondays for possible inclusion in the schedule published on Thursday night/Fri- day morning covering the following week It may not always be possible to accede to every request The weekly schedule will be published on the SA AMSAT web page at http://www amsatsa org za/

With recent changes in software please note the following operating procedure

The PTT of the transmitter now STAYS ON for the duration of the payload activation (i e 15 min), regardless of a valid “transponder” tone rece- ived Note that this does not get rid of the “cut-off” problem, nor of the requirement to embed a valid tone when you want to use the payload – see detailed explanation below

The following example depicts the ideal usage scenario of the payload:

1. As the satellite comes over the horizon, an unmodulated carrier (“quieting”) will be received by all on UHF

2. Person A starts to transmit on VHF (with valid “transponding” tone embedded in the transmission) and the transmission is relayed on UHF

3. When Person A releases his/her PTT, the satellite will continue to transmit what it is receiving (usually this will be “noise”) for a further ±3s Nobody should start to transmit during this time!

4. At the end of the ±3s period, everybody will again hear the unmodul- ated carrier

5. NB: only when this unmodulated carrier is heard should Person B start to transmit

In simple repeater operation terms, leave a 3 second gap between overs

[ANS thanks SA AMSAT for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-192 06 July 2010 AO-51 Schedule

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 192 06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD July 11, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-192 06

Command Team and Operations Group AO-51 News July 2010 AO-51 Schedule

Due to poor battery condition, AO-51 will be off during eclipses Until further notice the schedule will remain:

FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145 920 Mhz FM, PL 67Hz Downlink: 435 300 Mhz FM

The 67Hz PL tone is required to activate the repeater, which will run unsquelched for two minutes after hearing a valid tone Within that two minute period, no tone is required

73, Drew KO4MA

AMSAT-NA VP Operations

AO-51 Echo Mode Suggestion Email Address

mailto:ao51-modes@amsat org?subject=AO51%20web%20page%20request The AO-51 Operations Group is made up of Amsat Members who are also AO-51 users The Operations Group works with the Command Team to create the monthly schedule for the satellite The AO-51 Operations Group is OZ1MY, VK5HI, N8BBQ, KD8CAO The Command Stations are KO4MA, WA4SXM, WA6FWF, and N8MH

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[ANS thanks Mark, N8MH, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-192 07 July 12-16 ARRL Teacher's Institute on the Satellites

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 192 07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD July 11, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-192 07

July 12-16 ARRL Teacher's Institute on the Satellites

ARRL Education and Technology Program Coordinator, Mark Spencer, WA8SME will conduct the Dayton Amateur Radio Association sponsored ARRL TI-2 Teacher's Institute - Space next week in Dayton from July 12 through 15

The purpose of this teacher's institute is to instruct teachers on how to access satellites for use in their classrooms The four day institute will involve a lot of on-the-air activity on the birds

Mark invites you to listen up for the teachers who will be working the birds for the first time and help participate in the TI by making contacts with them They will be novice satellite operators so he hopes you will forgive mistakes as they learn the ropes It will be interesting to see how 8 ground stations operate from one location! (The stations consist of FT817s, ARROWS and computer controlled G5500 rotors )

If anyone needs a contact with W1AW/8, Mark will be using that call sign periodically while doing some demonstrations during the TI If you have a specific request, let Mark know via e-mail and he'll listen for your call specifically Mark's address is mspencer@arrl org

[ANS thanks Mark, WA8SME for the above information] \EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-192 08 STudSat Launch

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 192 08 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD July 11, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-192 08

'StudSat' is to be launched aboard the Indian PSLV C 15 on 12th July 2010 The lift off is at 03:52 Z and the StudSat is to be injected into orbit around 04:12 Z The CW beacon would be 'ON' at 04:42 Z, ie 30 minutes after separation from the launcher Beacon Frequency is 437 861 Mhz (10 mW) During its first pass, around 04:50 Z, stations around west and North Mexico, Western Coast of US, Canada, Alaska, and North Asia would be able to receive the beacon signal

  We request stations over these regions to kindly listen 

on to the beacon frequency and provide us with their valuable reports These initial reports are the only means for us to confirm on the 'Beacon ON' until it is visible over VU land This help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance

Mani, VU2WMY Secretary & Station-In-Charge Upagrah Amateur Radio Club VU2URC ISRO Satellite Centre

A L S O The 51-hour countdown for the 17th flight launch of Indian space agency's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C 15 from Sriharikota spaceport is expected to begin on Saturday morning

Preparations were in full swing for the launch of the PSLV-C-15 on July 12 All the parameters for the launch were doing well and the 51-hour countdown was expected to start at 6 am tomorrow

TIsat-1: Swiss CubeSat Uplink: 145 980MHz FM, AFSK Downlink: 437 305MHz FM, AFSK Beacon: 437 305MHz CW Callsign: HB9DE http://www spacelab dti supsi ch/tiSat1 html

StudSat : India CubeSat Uplink: 437 505MHz, 9600bps FSK Downlink: 437 505MHz, 9600bps FSK Beacon : 437 505MHz, 20bps ASK http://www teamstudsat com/

http://www indianexpress com/section/technology/698/ http://www indianexpress com/news/51hour-countdown-for-pslvc15-launch-starts -tomorrow/644288/ http://www ne jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/suitsfun htm

JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

[ANS Thanks Mani, VU2WMY, & Mineo, JE9PEL, for the above info]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-192 09 ARISS Status July 5, 2010

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 192 09 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD July 5, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-192 09

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report July 5, 2010

1. Upcoming School Contact

Cavett Kids Foundation’s Camp Cavett, based out of OU Medical Center in Kingston, Oklahoma, was scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, July 8 at 20:35 UTC The mission of the Cavett Kids Foundation is to provide a forum of support through various camps, events, and programs for children with life-threatening and chronic illnesses while promoting character, coping skills, and connection Using ARRL (American Radio Relay League) lesson plans, children were introduced to the basics of radio wave propagation and local radio clubs assisted with demonstrations and hands on activities

1. Astronaut Speaks with Summer Camp via ARISS

Expedition 24 astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with summer camp "Astronauts in Forest," in Perugia, Italy on Friday, July 2 The connection was provided by telebridge station ON4ISS in Belgium Wheelock managed eight questions put to him by the camp which was attended by twenty children and four staff members The camp, which is based on astronomy and space education, provides a program of space activities for children, ages 11 to 14

1. ARISS Included in Brazilian Space Agency Videos

Brazilian Space Agency AEB has produced two videos about the International Space Station The videos were recorded by astronaut Marcos Pontes and are the first videos showing ARISS activities in Portuguese See:

Part 1 http://www youtube com/user/PY1KCF#p/a/u/1/vilmCC7RRQ0

Part 2 http://www youtube com/user/PY1KCF#p/a/u/0/GJll0WZfYmg

[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, Dee Interdonato, NB2F nb2f at amsat dot org

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