AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-131

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, 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 communicating 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

In this edition:

• Fox-1 Launch Update
• New Speaker Announced for the AMSAT Dayton Forum
• KC8YLD to Address Instructors, Youth at Dayton Hamvention
• ARRL's ETP Feature Space Topics at Hamvention
• Delfi-n3Xt: 2405 MHz Downlink Test
• FUNcube-1 AO-73 satellite SSB signal test
• Future FUNcube missions – 2014 launch dates
• Two QB50 satellites with ham radio payloads delivered
• KickSat Sprite deployment may not happen
• Delfi-C3 celebrates 6 years in space
• Upcoming AMSAT Events
• ARISS News
• Satellite Shorts from All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-131 01 ANS-131 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 131 01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD May 11, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-131 01

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Fox-1 Launch Update

The following is excerpted from the Apogee View column of AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, as published in the latest AMSAT Journal:

The launch of Grace/L55 from Vandenberg AFB is slipping from December 2014 into Summer 2015 due to governmental priorities Fox-1 is currently manifested on that launch as part of the ELaNa-12 group of satellites Instead of launching our vehicle in December, another launch vehicle with payload is taking precedence, forcing a reschedule of ELaNa-12 Currently, we are now scheduled to fly on 1 AUG 2015 rather than December 2014

This delay is mixed news for AMSAT While we are disappointed that this will mean that Fox-1 will not fly in 2014, it also means that we have more time to complete and test the spacecraft prior to delivery to SRI In the overall scheme of things, it allows AMSAT to have greater confidence in the delivery of a thoroughly tested spacecraft by taking more time to allow for unforeseen contingencies and to do the ground testing

Meanwhile, the National Reconnaissance Office – Office of Space Launch (NRO OSL) is looking for cubesats to be manifested on another launch that will now fly later than our original December 2014 launch date but before the current expected flight of GRACE/L-55 The ELaNa- 11 Mission, manifested on the ULTRASAT/AFSPC-5 launch has also slipped and is now scheduled to fly in the March/April 2015 timeframe rather than in February 2015 Because both launches are being delayed, NRO OSL has asked that cubesat owners currently scheduled for ELaNa-11 or ELaNa-12 to deliver their satellites to Cal Poly by 1 OCT 14, which is four months later than our original delivery date with the potential for being flown on the earlier flight The ELaNa- 11 orbit is slightly different, with a lower apogee and inclination, but also a shorter orbital life (6 5 years vs 11 years for ELaNa- 12) Consequently, we’re looking at the impacts of flying earlier with the tradeoff of shorter mission duration

Again, I must point out that as a secondary payload, AMSAT is at the mercy of decisions by those who are “paying the freight ” We’re benefiting from a launch paid for by the US Air Force; their mission priorities drive the launch opportunities While AMSAT members may be disappointed by the change in launch schedule, please understand that receiving a free launch comes with the expectation that launch schedules may indeed be altered to satisfy other requirements Stay tuned Meanwhile, our engineering team is moving forward with completing Fox-1 AMSAT VP-Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY will discuss the status of Fox-1 and the launch situation at Hamvention’s AMSAT Forum

For more information on the Fox satellites, please visit

http://ww2 amsat org/?page_id=1113

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above announcement]

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New Speaker Announced for the AMSAT Dayton Forum

We are pleased to announce that we will have an additional speaker for this year's AMSAT Forum

Howard Long, G6LVB, AMSAT-UK Committee Member and creator of the popular FUNcube Dongle, will report on FUNcube-1/AO-73's operation and the upcoming launches of FUNcube-2 & FUNcube-3 The Forum will be in Room 5, 1115-1300 EDT Saturday

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above Information]

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KC8YLD to Address Instructors, Youth at Dayton Hamvention

Vice President for Educational Relations E Micahel McCardel, KC8YLD will be addressing the Instructor's Forum, moderated bt Carole Perry WB2MGP The Instructor's Forum will be held held in Room 3 at 10:15 am Friday May 16 EMike will address AMSAT's educational mission and how how it ties in with meeting STEM requirements

On Saturday he will address the Youth Forum, also moderated by Carole Perry The Youth Forum will begin 9:15 am in Room 1 EMike will challenge the students to look toward Space as they learn and investigate their radio hobby while outlining the many opportunities at Hamvention to learn more about amateur radio in space

[ANS Thanks AMSAT-EDU for the above information]

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ARRL's ETP Feature Space Topics at Hamvention

Mark Spencer WA8SME, Director of ARRL's Education and Technology Program reports that he, along with Matt Severin, N8MS, will feature many items of interest to space education during the Dayton Hamvention

With them they will have the Wobbler, MPPT, CubeSat Sim, pocket cube sim, antenna sim, MAREA, the Leslie's cube, the MSE sim, and tricked- out-WRAPS systems with them Mark says they plan to talk about using FunCube in the classroom (the rotation rate study, the Leslie's cube, and the MSE sim), along with MAREA and the remote sensing buoy system for the teaching crowd

All of these items should be of interest to the AMSAT crowd and you are encouraged to stop by their booth in the ARRL section while in Dayton

[ANS thanks the ANS Editorial Staff for the above information]

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Delfi-n3Xt: 2405 MHz Downlink Test

Delfi Nanosatellite Program Manager, Jasper Bouwmeester PC4JB, has announced that the team plan to activate the Delfi-n3Xt satellite’s 2405 MHz downlink on May 13-17, 2014

It has been a while since you heard from us We are still having problems to receive our satellite since our transponder test We now want to try something different: trying to activate our S-band transmitter and let it transmit at full power for a pass If we are able to receive a signal from the S-band, we know that Delfi-n3Xt still has an operational receiver and we could potentially demodulate the S-band signal But since we already know that the latter is difficult, the first focus is just to “see” the signal Since the satellite is still tumbling, it is a matter of link budget and statistics if we are able to catch the signal To increase our chanceswe would like to ask the help of radio amateurs in the neighbourhood with suitable equipment Since we have to actively command the satellite we have planned the passes which are suitable for the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Northern France and the availability of operators from our side According to a quick survey, you are living in the area in reach at the selected passes The question to you:

Do you have S-band (2405 MHz) reception functionality with a dish of at least 2 5 meter and tracking capability and willing to follow and record one or more passes for us?

If so, please let us know your location, the gain of your antenna and the passes you are able to follow Off course you do not have to be actively present during the pass You can just record it and send the recording later through http://www wetransfer com

Delfi-n3Xt will send at 2405 MHz +/- 100 kHz The latter is the worst case uncertainty band, but I expect it to be pretty close to the right frequency If you have an SDR, you can best set it at +/- 1 MHz around the centre frequency Off course you do not have to be actively present during the pass You can just record it

The planned attempts are stated by the LOCAL time of commanding below If successful transmission would be within the 10-20 minutes after the indicated time

• Tue 13-05 ~11 25h local time
• Wed 14-05 ~12:00h local time
• Thu 15-05 ~22:10h local time
• Fri 16-05 ~11:35h local time
• Sat 17-05 ~12:10h local time

If you are able, your help is highly appreciated!

Vy 73, Jasper PC4JB Email: Jasper Bouwmeester@tudelft nl

Delfi-n3Xt http://www delfispace nl/operations/radio-amateurs

Delfi-n3Xt Communication Subsystem http://www delfispace nl/delfi-n3xt/comms

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above announcement]

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FUNcube-1 AO-73 satellite SSB signal test

A video at AMSAT-UK, showing Simon 2E0HTS carrying out a signal test on the FUNcube-1 AO-73 CubeSat, he gets a good signal back from the satellite

During weekday, daylight hours the satellite is in Educational Mode transmitting a strong telemetry signal with science data for schools to receive On weekday evenings, when the satellite is in darkness, and throughout the weekend the FUNcube SSB/CW transponder is activated SSB contacts can be made with as little as 5 watts

To minimize Doppler shift, the satellite uses what is known as an Inverting Transponder, this means you transmit lower sideband (LSB) in the 435 MHz band and receives upper sideband (USB) in 145 MHz

FUNcube-1 frequencies • 145 935 MHz BPSK Telemetry 30 or 300 mW • Inverting SSB/CW transponder 300 mW PEP - 435 150 — 435 130 MHz Uplink LSB - 145 950 — 145 970 MHz Downlink USB Educational Telemetry beacon is 300 mW during day and 30 mW at night The Transponder is only active during weekday night passes and at weekends

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above announcement]

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Future FUNcube missions – 2014 launch dates

The FUNcube team have received confirmation that UKube-1, which is hosting the FUNcube-2 payload, remains scheduled for a Soyuz launch on June 19 The team do not, as yet, have any lift-off times or TLE’s for this launch but we will make these available as soon as possible

It is believed that, immediately after deployment and activation, UKube-1 will commence transmitting a CW beacon and that this will be later followed by an AX25, 1k2 BPSK beacon Both beacons will be on 145 840 MHz The FUNcube-2 payload, with its telemetry downlink for educational outreach, is expected to be tested later

FUNcube-3 is the transponder only payload on the QB50 precursor CubeSat “QB50P1? This mission is currently scheduled to launch “Not earlier than the second half of June” , on a Dnepr LV from Yasny The initial beacon signals, from the main transceiver, are also expected to be AX25, 1k2 BPSK packets on 145 815 MHz Again more information will be provided as soon as it becomes available

UKube-1 communications subsystem: • 145 840 MHz Telemetry Downlink • 2401 0 MHz S Band Downlink • 437 425-437 525 MHz UKSEDS myPocketQub Downlink • 145 915 MHz FUNcube beacon • FUNcube 400 mW inverting SSB/CW transponder - 435 080 -435 060 MHz Uplink - 145 930 -145 950 MHz Downlink

QB50p1 communications subsystem: • 145 815 MHz 1200 bps BPSK telemetry beacon • FUNcube inverting 400 mW SSB/CW transponder - 435 035 – 435 065 MHz Uplink LSB - 145 935 – 145 965 MHz Downlink USB

FUNcube website http://www funcube org uk/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above announcement]

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Two QB50 satellites with ham radio payloads delivered

The QB50 project has reached another crucial milestone The first two QB50 satellites have been delivered for shipment to the launch site after a successful flight acceptance test campaign The satellites will form the QB50 Precursor mission that seeks to de-risk and validate key technologies of the QB50 main flight that will be performed in the coming years

The launch is planned for June 19, 2014 from the Russian ICBM base at Dombarovsky near Yasny on a Dnepr rocket manufactured in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine The satellites will be put into a 650 km Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO)

The following payloads were integrated into the ISIS satellite platforms:

QB50p1 • INMS Payload from MSSL, UK • QB50 ADCS system from SSC, UK • Thermocouple experiment from VKI, Belgium • AMSAT-NL 435/145 MHz linear transponder (FUNcube-3) from AMSAT-NL, The Netherlands

QB50p2 • FIPEX Payload, University of Dresden, Germany • QB50 ADCS system from SSC, UK • Thermocouple experiment from VKI, Belgium • AMSAT-Fr 435/145 MHz FM voice transponder from AMSAT Francophone, France

QB50p1 (FUNcube-3) has a VHF 9600 bps BPSK telemetry downlink plus a linear U/V transponder similar to that already flying on FUNcube-1 with an output of 400 mW • 145 815 MHz 9600 bps BPSK telemetry beacon • Inverting SSB/CW linear transponder 400 mW PEP - 435 035 – 435 065 MHz Uplink LSB - 145 935 – 145 965 MHz Downlink USB

QB50p2 has a VHF 9600 bps BPSK telemetry downlink plus a separate RF payload from AMSAT-Francophone which will comprise of a FM voice transponder with UHF uplink and VHF downlink It will also transmit FX25 telemetry at 9600 bps • 145 880 MHz 9600 bps BPSK telemetry beacon • 145 840 MHz 9600 bps FSK FX25

The project was executed to an unprecedented timeline Formal Kick- Off was in October 2013 and all hardware from the different partners was delivered for integration into the satellites in January 2014 This means that two satellites were delivered in just over 6 months Furthermore, with a precursor launch scheduled in June, launch and operations will commence within 9 months of project Kick-Off

This fast-track project shows how successful a close cooperation between academic institutes and experienced companies can be With ISIS’ experienced team of engineers that design and build nanosatellites on a regular basis (ISIS remains on track to delivering 1 satellite system per month in 2014), throughput times of nanosatellite projects can be shortened significantly

The upcoming launch of the QB50 precursor satellites will also be the first satellites to be launched that were funded through the EU’s FP7 space technology programme, in which a number of innovative small satellites will be launched in the coming years to demonstrate new European space technologies

The lessons learned from the QB50 Precursor development and operations have already led to many recommendations to further improve and streamline the QB50 main flight All teams involved in QB50 stand to benefit from the experiences gained over the last months

Source https://www vki ac be/index php/component/content/article/249- news/latest/467-isis-delivers-the-first-two-qb50-satellites-as-part- of-the-eu-fp7-qb50-project

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above announcement]

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KickSat Sprite deployment may not happen

An unexpected reset of the master clock on KickSat may mean that the deployment of the 104 Sprite satellites will not take place before the KickSat CubeSat burns up in the atmosphere

Radio amateur Zac Manchester KD2BHC has posted this update:

First off, I’d like to sincerely thank all of you for your support over the past two years KickSat has been a success up to this point because of you

As those who’ve been keeping up with the telemetry data coming in from KickSat on our mailing list may have noticed, the packets we’ve been receiving have changed in the last couple of days This was due to a hard reset of the “watchdog” microcontroller on KickSat – the sort of “reptile brain” of the satellite that manages turning on and off the rest of the subsystems and keeps the master clock It appears the reset happened some time in the morning of Wednesday, April 30th The reset doesn’t seem to be the result of power issues (the watchdog should run until the batteries reach 5 5 volts, and they’ve been holding steady around 6 5 volts) Instead, it seems the likely culprit was radiation

One consequence of the watchdog reset on KickSat is that the spacecraft’s master clock was reset, thus also setting the deployment countdown for KickSat back to 16 days That would put the deployment some time in the morning of May 16th Unfortunately, it looks like KickSat will most likely reenter and burn up before the 16th We’ve spent the last couple of days here at Cornell trying to think of every possible contingency, but it seems there aren’t very many options right now KickSat’s uplink radio, which we could use to command the deployment, can’t turn on unless the batteries reach 8 volts, and it doesn’t look like they’ll reach that level in time

While the situation looks a little bleak, there is still some hope that the batteries may recharge sufficiently to command the satellite There is also a small chance that KickSat could remain in orbit until the 16th, at which point the timer would set off the deployment as originally planned We’ll continue tracking KickSat over the next few days with the help of the ham community, so that we can keep track of its battery voltage and the Sprite deployment status I’ll post updates here, as usual, but you can also see the latest data as it comes in on our mailing list

Thank you again for your support I promise that this won’t be the end of the KickSat project

• Zac

Kicksat Wiki https://github com/zacinaction/kicksat/wiki

KickSat mailing list https://groups google com/forum/#!forum/kicksat-gs

Kicksat Updates https://www kickstarter com/projects/zacinaction/kicksat-your- personal-spacecraft-in-space/posts

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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Delfi-C3 celebrates 6 years in space

Delfi-C3 (DO-64) has celebrated its 6th birthday on April 28, 2014 The spacecraft is still operational, telemetry only, on 145 870 MHz USB

Delfi-C3Delfi-C3 has exceeded its mission lifetime by six times now, and on-board telemetry still does not indicate degradation in performance

So far, our distributed ground station network (DGSN) has collected 2037513 frames as of today, received by 376 registered radio amateurs and many more on the guest account, using the free RASCAL software This would not have been possible without your continued support

Please note that the original team of students has long graduated, and Delfi-c3 operations are done by very few volunteers We continue to monitor the live telemetry in our spare time

73s

Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG Delfi-C3 ops-team

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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Upcoming AMSAT Events

Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations)

Saturday, 7 June 2014 – Kachina Amateur Radio Club‘s White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low AZ (eastern Arizona, south of US-60/AZ-77/AZ-260) – AMSAT will have a table at this hamfest, and satellite demonstrations are planned

Friday and Saturday, 13-14 June 2014 – Ham-Com in Plano TX (north of Dallas)

Thursday through Sunday, 17-20 July 2014 – ARRL Centennial Convention in Hartford CT AMSAT will host a day-long Satellite Workshop on Thursday, and have a booth at the convention along with an AMSAT Forum and demonstrations throughout the convention

Friday through Sunday, 12-14 September 2014 – ARRL Southwestern Division Convention 2014 in San Diego CA (north of the city center, near Montgomery Field airport & I-805/CA-163 interchange) – AMSAT will have a booth at this convention, there will be on-air demonstrations using satellites throughout the convention, and a presentation on amateur satellites and AMSAT AMSAT maintains and updated list of known upcoming events at http://ww2 amsat org/?page_id=218

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above announcement]

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ARISS News

Next planned event(s): Upcoming Contacts There will be a lapse in contacts during the period from 2014-05-12 to 2014-06-15 Licensed crew members will join crew on board the ISS and contacts are expected to resume in July

Recent Updates

May 7, 2014 ESA Presents Ham Video Commissioning

European Space Agency (ESA) published an article on their website, presenting the initial Ham Video transmitter commissioning by Mike Hopkinns at: http://www esa int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Education/Ham_vide o_premiers_on_Space_Station

May 1, 2014

A direct contact between astronaut Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA and students at Hidden Oaks Middle School, Prior Lake, MN, USA was successful Thu 2014-05-01 16:28:17 UTC 55 deg

Hidden Oaks is a public 6th through 8th grade middle school serving the communities of Prior Lake and Savage, Minnesota One of the goals in Minnesota is to increase interest and participation in STEM activities and initiatives Our future depends on the ability of our kids to understand the workings of the world and the ability to think critically Our ARISS contact will allow them to have an authentic experience through the use of amateur radio to speak directly with an astronaut aboard ISS The students have participated in learning sessions conducted by the local ham radio community, learning about the technology needed to make the contact possible They have also participated in the Micro Gravity Experience this past summer The school is very excited to have this opportunity; all 900 students are looking forward to the conversation and have been working on special projects related to spaceflight and exploration

April, 29, 2014

A direct contact with students at Aboshinishi Elementary School, Himeji-City, Japan, via 8N3AB was successful Tue 2014-04-29 09:05:15 UTC 80 deg Astronaut Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA answered 30 questions for students

Listen to a video recording of the interview: http://www ariss jp/aboshinishi/8n3ab avi

The Aboshinishi elementary school founded in 1976, is a small school in western Himeji-city with a total number of 359 students

[ ANS thanks ARISS for the above update]

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Satellite Shorts from all over

Air Force Museum to host Space Fest in Ohio May 16-17

Three people who have been in space themselves will highlight the May 16-17 Space Fest at the National Museum of the U S Air Force near Dayton in southwest Ohio

Former space shuttle pilot and retired Air Force Col Gregory Johnson will introduce a special showing of the hit movie "Gravity" in 3D the evening of the 16th Johnson will also answer questions afterward

International Space Station astronaut and Army Col Douglas Wheelock and former astronaut Donald Thomas, a veteran of four space missions, will be signing autographs May 17 at the museum's new space shuttle exhibit They also will give separate talks in a museum auditorium

Other movies at reduced rates, space trivia contests, and a variety of interactive space-themed attractions will be available

See Online: www nationalmuseum af mil

http://www 10tv com/content/stories/apexchange/2014/05/04/oh--space- fest-ohio html

[ANS thanks USAF National Museum and WBNS-TV10, Columbus, OH for the above announcement]

Saturday May 10, Matanuska Amatuer Radio Association (MARA) Hamfest

Dale, KL7XJ and Craig,KL4E will be representing AMSAT for the event

They are scheduled to give a presentation and are planning satellite demos Only SO-50 is planned be worked

The passes we plan on working are:

2008-2020 EL 35 2148-2201 EL 76 2329-2342 El 51

Times are UTC and are based on available pass times for Wasilla, AK, location of the hamfest If you made contact, email Dale

[ ANS thanks AMSAT-BB for the above short]

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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, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA http://amsat org/mailman/listinfo/ans