AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-020

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information 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://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 dot org

In this edition:

• Knacksat in Safe Mode: Reports Needed
• NEXUS Launch Update
• OrigamiSat-1 Launch Update
• AMSAT 50th Anniversary Awards Program
• CubeSat Postdoc Job Opening at University of Arizona
• CubeSat Training Offered April 23-25, 2019
• Upcoming Satellite Launches Announced
• Upcoming Satellite Operations
• ARISS News
• Shorts from All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-020 01 ANS-020 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 000 01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD January 20, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-020 01

Knacksat in Safe Mode: Reports Needed

Before the New Year 2019 Tanan Rangseeprom, HS1JAN, Khun Chawalit, E20KEW and Khun Krisada, E21EJC visited Prof Dr Suwat, the Knacksat Project Leader, and Dr Pongsathorn, the Knacksat Project Team Manager at the King Mongkut Institute of Technology North Bangkok (KMUT-NB) to enquire about the status of the Knacksat satellite following its SSO-A launch by a Space X rocket on December 3, 2018

Due to problems with the Space X rocket, the launch had been postponed several times and the satellite's batteries may have become depleted by the time the satellite was finally launched by SSO-A When the deploy switch was to have been working for about 30 minutes the VHF/UHF antennas would have deployed with heat from the nichrome wire

A lower than normal battery power and the need for high-voltage to deploy the antenna may be the reason that Knacksat then entered the Safe Mode This is done in order to charge the battery and to await orders from the HS0AK Ground Station The Knacksat team is confident that the satellite is still in a state of sleep They expect that it may take many months to charge the battery to get to the original energy level

The Knacksat team urgently needs help in receiving reports of the CW beacon signal on 435 635 MHz because Knacksat will send the CW beacon signal when the solar cell panel receives enough sunlight to charge the battery Hence, there may be a signal from the CW beacon with power of just 10-100 mW from the satellite at any time

The Knacksat team has prepared rewards for anyone who sends them details with a signal report received from Knacksat including QSL cards, Knacksat shirts, etc Anyone who copies the satellite should please send an email to knacksat@gmail com or enter a report at: https://knacksat-26d23 firebaseapp com

Since the satellite was launched about one month ago only two persons have received the CW beacon The signal has been very weak such that the CW could not be fully copied and the telemetry could not be fully decoded Therefore, they urgently request operators to study the information below and email knacksat@gmail com if they are able to help:

1. The need is for an amateur radio station with an EME-capable antenna The UHF frequency at 435 635 MHz requires an antenna with very high gain to receive the very weak CW beacon signal

2. The need is also for a station so equipped to try to send an MP3 sound file to change the uplink VHF frequency This will wake up the satellite from the Safe Mode

If any AMSAT member knows of anyone who can help please contact the Knacksat team as quickly as possible

Tanan adds, "Thank you for helping the satellites of Thailand In the near future and not later than the second quarter of 2019 JAISAT-1 (Joint Academy for Intelligent Satellites for Amateur Radio of Thailand) will be launched and we will keep you informed of progress with further news "

Details can be found at http://www knacksat space/

[ANS thanks Tanan Rungseeprom, HS1JAN, JAISAT 1 Satellite Project Manager for the above information ]

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NEXUS Launch Update

Japan conducted its first launch of 2019 Friday, using a Epsilon rocket to launch seven satellites into orbit, including NEXUS The Epsilon lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Centre at 00:50 UTC

Nihon University’s NEXUS satellite is a single-unit CubeSat equipped with a camera and an amateur radio transponder The satellite’s objective is to demonstrate its amateur radio system, which is anticipated to allow a faster relay of data than comparable existing satellites

Initial reception reports were received by NP4JV, OK2GZ, F5YG, PA0DLO and PT9KK

The latest known reception reports indicate that NEXUS is object 43933, 2019-003B and its downlink is 437 0732 MHz

Its linear transponder and data frequencies are:

Uplink: 145 900-145 930 MHz (CW/LSB) Downlink: 435 880-435 910 MHz (CW/USB) CW/Data: 435 900 MHz & 437 075 MHz Callsign: JS1YAV

[ANS thanks Jarda, JA1OGZ and nasaspaceflight com for the above information ]

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OrigamiSat-1 5 8Ghz CubeSat Launch Status

OrigamiSat-1 (3U CubeSat, JS1YAX) developed by Tokyo Institute of Technology was also launched with NEXUS on January 18, 2019 It has a 500 km sun synchronous orbit

The main purposes of this satellite are:

• Technology acquisition of high-speed data downlink in 5 8GHz band from a satellite to ground stations
• On orbit demonstration for deployment of a membrane with SMA (Shape Memory Alloy) antenna

The downlink frequencies are: 437 505MHz (20K0F2D (1200bps) and 500HA1A) (Constant use) 5 840GHz (420KF1D (115kbps)) (Emission will be scheduled)

The expected TLE will be almost same as NEXUS since OrigamiSat-1 will be deployed from 100sec earlier than NEXUS

The detail of the mission and telemetry format are available at: http://www origami titech ac jp/

[ANS thanks Hiroki Nakanishi, JQ1YCZ and the Tokyo Institute of Technology for the above information ]

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AMSAT 50th Anniversary Awards Program

To help celebrate 50 years of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space, AMSAT is proud to announce the AMSAT 50th Anniversary Awards Program
Throughout 2019, your satellite and HF QSOs can help you achieve one of these special awards A summary of the three awards are as follows:

• 50th Anniversary AMSAT OSCAR Satellite Communications Achievement Award (Limited Edition)

Unlike the AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement Award, the 50th Anniversary AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement Award will be issued on one of the original goldenrod paper stock certificates and signed by AMSAT's founding President, Perry Klein, K3TJE (now W3PK)
With only 20 original certificates available, this award will certainly become a collector's item The first 20 applicants to successfully submit 20 confirmed, qualifying contacts made after March 3, 2019 on any satellite will receive this award

• 50th Anniversary AMSAT Satellite Friends of 50 Award

To achieve this award, you must work 50 amateur radio operators on any satellite during 2019

• AMSAT on HF 50th Anniversary Award

To achieve this award, you must work at least one AMSAT Member on any HF band, on any mode

Complete information on the specific requirements to earn these awards can be found at: https://www amsat org/amsat-50th-anniversary-awards-program/

[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT-NA VP of User Services for the above information ]

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          Fox-1 CubeSat Model Kits Available

This exciting model is printed in color on heavy stock paper and includes all components The instructions are carefully prepared to allow for easy assembly requiring scissors, glue etc

The completed model will be a perfect addition to any satellite operator's shack, and a chance to show visitors what is being done by AMSAT today

All proceeds will go to supporting AMSAT's satellite projects The price is $40 plus shipping Order yours today at:

    https://www
amsat
org/product/fox-1-cubesat-model/

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CubeSat Postdoc Job Opening at University of Arizona

The University of Arizona (UA) Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory (SO) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to work with Dr Ewan Douglas on space astrophysics instrumentation and high contrast observational astronomy Candidates with particular interests or experience in any of the following areas are encouraged to apply:

• Astronomy and planetary science instrumentation in space, such as small/nano-satellites and sounding rockets,
• Laboratory testing and simulation of coronagraphic systems for high contrast imaging of exoplanets and debris disks,
• CubeSat mission design and operations,
• Reduction and analysis of coronagraphic observations of debris disks

Candidates should have a PhD in astronomy, planetary science, physics, optical or aerospace engineering, or a closely related field The position will provide opportunities for outreach and student engagement, and applicants with experience or interest in outreach are encouraged to apply Experience contributing to open source hardware and software projects is also desirable

A new interdisciplinary SmallSat initiative at the UA includes construction of integration and test facilities as well as a CubeSat ground station UA/SO offers a world-class research environment in ground and space-based astrophysics with strong interdisciplinary programs across the Departments of Astronomy, Physics, Planetary Sciences, and the UA Data Science Institute Steward Observatory provides direct access to various world-class facilities for ground- based radio and optical observing Among these are the Large Binocular Telescope and 6 5m aperture telescopes located in both the northern and southern hemispheres

Recent PhDs with experience building a CubeSat payload are strongly encouraged to apply to this flexible position

This position is expected to last up to 2 years starting fall 2019 To apply, go to https://uacareers com/postings/search and apply to Posting Number P20717

[ANS thanks the University of Arizona for the above information ]

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CubeSat Training Offered April 23-25, 2019

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has announced a training course it will be hosting shortly after the 2019 CubeSat Developers Workshop Persons interested in learning more about CubeSat development, mission
success, and connecting with experienced individuals are encouraged to attend

Information on what will be covered in the training is available at: http://www cubesat org/workshop-information/

If you are interested in attending the workshop or have questions, send an email to: cubesat-workshop@calpoly edu

February 1, 2019 is the deadline to inform them of your interest

[ANS thanks CubeSat for the above information ]

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Upcoming Satellite Launches Announced

The International Amateur Radio Union has announced approved frequency coordination for the following satellites:

• CAS-7A A Micro satellite 750L x 650W x 260H mm with a mass of 27 kg with the following highlights:

  • H/T Linear Transponder
  • H/U Linear Transponder
  • HF CW Telemetry Beacon
  • V/U Linear Transponder
  • V/U FM Transponder
  • UHF CW Telemetry Beacon
  • UHF AX 25 4 8k/9 6kbps GMSK Telemetry
  • 3cm AX 25 1Mbps GMSK Image data transmission
  • On board camera
  • 3-axis stabilization system
  • Planning a launch on April 5th 2019 from Jiuquan into a 400x320km 42 7 degree inclination orbit
  • Sponsor: Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT)

• CAS-7B A spheriform spacecraft of 500 mm diameter with a mass of 3kg with the following highlights:

  • UHF CW Telemetry Beacon
  • V/U FM Transponder
  • Spinning stabilization
  • Planning a launch on April 5th 2019 from Jiuquan into a 400x320km 42 7 degree inclination orbit
  • Sponsor: Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT)

• TTU101 A 1U cubesat with the following highlights:

  • Remote sensing in visible and IR electromagnetic spectrum
  • 10 450 – 10 500 GHz high-speed data downlink operations
  • 435 MHz downlink with data rates up to 9k6 GFSK/GMSK
  • 10 45 GHZ downlink at data rates up to 20Mbs OQPSK
  • Planning a launch in Q3 2019 into a SSO 500-600 km polar orbit from Vostochny launch base
  • Sponsor: Tallinn University of Technology

[ANS thanks the IARU and AMSAT-UK for the above information ]

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Upcoming Satellite Operations

• Costa Rica (EK71) – January 19, 2019 Vic, TI2VLM will be operating from Costa Rica, grid EK71, Saturday, January 19th Only two passes: AO-91 @ 18:03 UTC and SO-50 @ 18:56 UTC

• Marion, NC (EM85, EM95) – January 19, 2019 Andrew, N4LAZ, will activate the EM85/EM95 gridline Saturday, January 19th Planned passes are AO-92 at 16:24utc, AO-91 at 16:34Z, and SO-50 at 17:10Z Watch https://twitter com/N4LAZ for any updates

• Ocean Shores, WA (CN76, CN77) – January 19-20, 2019 Ron, AD0DX, will activate the CN76/CN77 gridline Saturday evening until noon Sunday (PST) Based on flight arrival time, plus 2 5 hour drive, Ron expects to be on FM and linear satellite passes sometime shortly after 01:00Z, Saturday night Check out Ron’s @ad0dx Twitter feed, https://twitter com/ad0dx for further announcements

• Quartzfest Arizona (DM23) – January 19-27, 2019 John, N7JY, will be operating FM satellites on a holiday schedule He may also visit some adjoining grids There will likely be other hams operating from the event, located a few miles south of Quartzsite AZ QSL via LOTW, or you can send your card with SASE

• Las Vegas NV and NW AZ (DM25, DM26, DM36) – January 20-22, 2019 David, AD7DB, will be in Las Vegas at DM25/26 line, operating on FM satellites on a holiday schedule In addition, weather permitting, sometime on Monday, January 21, 201919 he will make a side trip to Beaver Dam AZ to activate from DM36aw Updates will be on Twitter as the time approaches: https://twitter com/ad7db

• Labrador (GO11) – January 23-25, 2019 VE3FU, VO1HP, and VE9CB will be participating in the CQ160 CW Contest from the Point Amour Lighthouse in Labrador (GO11), which will be held January 25, 2200Z – January 27, 2200Z, 2019 This is important, because, if time permits they will be active on AO-85, AO-91, and AO-92 passes before the contest Call signs are expected to be VO2AC and VO2AAA Note: this is preliminary information Keep your eye on https://twitter com/chrisve3fu and https://www qrz com/db/vo2ac for possible updates

• Eureka Nunavut (ER60, EQ79) – February 3, – March 29, 2019 Eureka ARC, VY0ERC, will be QRV from Eureka, NU (NA-008), February 3 until March 29, 2019 Time and weather permitting, they expect to be on the FM satellites from ER60 and EQ79 Announcements will be posted on Twitter at https://twitter com/vy0erc

• Texas (DM80, DM70,DM71, DL79, DL90) February 10-14, 2019 Clayton, W5PFG will be operating satellites daily in vacation-mode from grid DM80 He will also operate a few passes from grids DM70, DM71, DL79, and DL89 Those specific passes will be advertised on Twitter @w5pfg You don't need to be a Twitter user to see his feed Just visit http://www twitter com/w5pfg to see his Tweets

• Nevada (DM15, DM16, DM17, DM18, DM25, DM26, DM27, DM28, DM37, DM36) – February 8-11, 2019 Casey KI7UNJ and Jonathan KI5BEX are planning a joint roving trip to Nevada, February 8-11, 2019 Planned activations include the DM15/16/25/26 grid corner Friday morning, the DM16/26 gridline Friday afternoon, DM17/18 gridline Saturday morning, DM27/28 gridline Saturday evening, DM27/37 gridline Sunday morning, and DM36/37 gridline Sunday evening This will be FM only All contacts uploaded to LoTW upon return Check out @KI7UNJ Twitter feed for specific passes at https://twitter com/KI7UNJ and follow them on aprs fi KI7UNJ-7

• Isla del Culebra, Puerto Rico (FK78) – February 22-24, 2019 Radio Opordores del Este, KP3RE, is preparing for their Culebra IOTA (NA-249) Expedition 2019 Satellite operations are planned for AO-91, AO-92, SO-50, and IO-86

• Turks and Caicos Islands (FL31) – February 28 – March 9, 2019 Adrian, AA5UK, will be heading to Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands from Feb 28th through March 9th, 2019 He will be operating holiday style on HF and Satellites as VP5/AA5UK from grid FL31UU14 Focus will be on the linear satellites, with some FM activity depending on pile-up civility Hope to work some European stations as location favors the East Pass announcements will be made via Twitter: https://twitter com/AA5UK and periodically via amsat-bb

[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information ]

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ARISS News

• Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of January 15, 2019

Ashbury College Junior School, Ottawa, ON, Canada, telebridge via VK5ZAI The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI Contact is go for: Wed 2019-01-23 19:51:36 UTC 22 degrees

• ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools:

Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 135 Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 108

• On January 12th, A half hour phone contact was arranged by ARISS between astronaut Mike Fossum and boys and girls attending the 25th Australian Scout Jamboree held at The Bend race track in southern Australia Fifteen scouts from the camp engaged Fossum in questions about his flights into space At the camp were over 8,500 scouts and 1,500 leaders, and an additional 3,000 parents, family and junior scouts allowed to visit just for that day Audio of the event was carried over the British Amateur TV Club online streaming system and was sent to the Internet Radio Linking Project (IRLP) and to EchoLink for distribution to the ham radio community and also to a local FM radio station for broadcast

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N and ARISS for the above information ]

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 AMSAT and ARISS are currently supporting a FundRazr campaign
 to raise $150,000 for critical radio infrastructure upgrades
 on ISS
 The upgrades are necessary to enable students to
 continue to talk to astronauts in space via Amateur Radio


       For more information and to DONATE TODAY visit:

  https://fundrazr
com/arissnextgen?ref=ab_e7Htwa_ab_47IcJ9

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Satellite Shorts from All Over

• AMSAT Office Closed January 21, 2019 The AMSAT Office will be closed on Monday, January 21 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day

[ANS thanks Martha Saragovitz for the above information ]

• Es’hail-2 NB and WB IOT testing continues A lot of stations in the footprint of Es’hail-2 (P4-A) have noticed that the Narrow Band (NB) transponder and the Wide Band (WB) transponder has been activated again, clearly visible on the transponder noise

AMSAT-DL would like to remind again: NO UPLINK OF SIGNALS PERMITTED!

This is still part of the official testing by MELCO engineers before the transponder will be officially handed over to Es’hailSat and QARS

MELCO is performing some passive tests for noise pedestal measurements and profiling of the transponder characteristics, similar to the ones performed in late December at the 24°E position Meanwhile Es’hail-2 reached his final position at 25 9°E

[ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information ]

• DL50AMSAT To mark the 50th anniversary of AMSAT, Federal Network Agency has allocated the call sign DL50AMSAT to AMSAT Germany for 1 year Under this call sign amateur radio AMSAT-DL will be active via satellite over and over again Also, the P4-A ground station at AMSAT-DL headquarters in Bochum will use the DL50AMSAT call sign

Check QRZ com for operational announcements QSL's eQSL are preferred

[ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information ]

• EQUIsat Online SatNOg Decoder This website allows you to decode receptions of Brown Space Engineering's first satellite, EQUiSat by providing either an audio file or specifying a SatNOGS satellite observation to decode You then receive an email with any data decoded from the transmission You can also automatically submit that data to their database and have your reception posted on Twitter Complete information at: https://decoder brownspace org/

[ANS thanks Brown Space Engineering for the above information ]

• Knacksat Antenna Deployment Test Video A four minute video of testing the Knacksat antenna deployment can be viewed at: https://www facebook com/knacksat/videos/818456401588168/

[ANS thanks Tanan Rungseeprom, HS1JAN, JAISAT 1 Satellite Project Manager for the above information ]

• MySat-1 Opened Up Opportunities for UAE Youth in Space An interesting article in the Gulf News newsletter describes how the building of MySat-1 by 20 graduate students has inspired youth in the United Arab Emirates Read the article at: https://tinyurl com/ANS-20-MySat-1

[ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information ]

• ICOM IC-9700 Previewed in UK Icom UK has been fortunate to have had an engineering sample of the IC-9700 VHF/UHF SDR Transceiver to evaluate for a short time Read some comments and watch a video overview at: https://tinyurl com/ANS-20-IC-9700

[ANS thanks Southgate Amateur Radio News for the above information ]

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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 additional 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 student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status

Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information

73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org

Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat org AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA

Not an AMSAT member: Join now to support the amateur satellite program!

Subscription settings: http://www amsat org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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