AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-146
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:
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-146 01 ANS-146 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 146 01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD May 26, 2019 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-146 01
Dollar-for-Dollar Match on your ARISS Donation Thru June 17, 2019
During the ARISS Forum at the Hamvention, it was announced, that between now and June 17, that an anonymous donor will equally match one dollar for each dollar donated up to $10,000
Here is an excellent opportunity to get the most from your donations to the ARISS FundRazr The FundRazr Project was initiated to raise $150,000 towards the ARISS Radio Upgrade on ISS To date 90 contributors have donated $24,840 to the campaign, about 17% of the goal $10,000 of your dollars, donated now, will raise that total to $44,840, including the matching funds It would be great if we could actually achieve one-third of our goal ($50,000) by mid-June Please donate today at https://fundrazr com/arissnextgen?ref=ab_6ruVeeeNzOa6ruVeeeNzOa
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information ]
Keith Pugh, W5IU SK
ARISS Friends,
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of ARISS team member Keith Pugh, W5IU Keith spent his life on Earth as a true gentlemen, serving others, enjoying friendship and relationships, and supporting his passions: amateur radio, flying and most importantly his love of God and all the great things on this Earth
Those that knew Keith considered him a Texan through and through
But truth be told, he was born and raised in Dodge City, Kansas
After college, he left Kansas and settled permanently in the
Fort Worth, Texas area where he picked up that Texas accent and
welcomed us into his world
And it is in Texas where he passed away
on May 24, 2019
Active with AMSAT and Amateur Radio satellites since the 1980's,
Keith jump-started his passion for amateur radio on human spaceflight
missions in 1991, when the Space Station Mir was in orbit and Soviet
ham radio operators were talking to the world-wide amateur radio
community
Keith helped install a Soviet Space Exhibit in Fort Worth
in 1991 and he hosted Musa Manarov U2MIR's visit to the USA
Ultimately, Keith joined the ARISS team in 2004, where he has
provided support as one of our operations leaders, technical
mentoring numerous schools and ARISS contact organizations and
providing his warm friendship and guidance to all in our team
Keith
also attended several of our ARISS International meetings, including
our 2008 ARISS-I meeting in Moscow and Kaluga
Many of us were aware of Keith's cancer But, Keith being Keith, he kept most of his pain and suffering to himself He remained joyful and humble until his death In fact, just a few days before his death--this past Tuesday, Keith signed into the ARISS International teleconference, apologizing that he came in late None of us knew this would be our last dialog with such a close friend and outstanding member of our team
As I stated, one of Keith's passions was flying as a private pilot
In fact for one of his vacations he flew a Cessna aircraft around
Australia
As a fellow pilot, I know that Keith must have been an
avid fan of the poem "High Flight" written by John Gillespie Magee
Jr
Paraphrasing this poem:
While we mourn the loss of our good friend, Keith Pugh, let us joyfully reflect on the fact that Keith has
Slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Topped the windswept heights with easy grace
And, while with silent lifting mind, Keith has trod
The high unsurpassed sanctity of Space,
Put out his hand and touched the face of God
Our thoughts and prayers are with Keith Pugh, W5IU SK as he touches the face of God
73, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
[ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO for the above information ]
AMSAT Journal Call for Photos
Joe Kornowski, KB6IGK, AMSAT Journal Editor sends a call for photos from the folks attending Hamvention 2019 Please send your photos in JPG format in as high resolution as feasible to Joe at kb6igk@amsat org
[ANS thanks Joe Kornowski, KB6IGK for the above information ]
ANS Asks For Stories About Your Hamvention-AMSAT Experience
The Editors of the AMSAT News Service are interested in hearing your testimonials about your AMSAT experience during this years Hamvention Please forward comments to ans-editor (at) amsat org
We hope to use these as shorts in future ANS News Bulletins to stimulate interest and promote Keeping Amateur Radio in Space Comments will also be shared with Editors of the AMSAT Journal
Tell us about new friends, old friends, new ideas, new techniques, inspirational epiphanies, or anything else that that got you excited about operating or becoming more involved in our great hobby
Again, please submit your stories to ans-editor (at) amsat org
[ANS thanks ANS Editors for the above information]
AMSAT Payload on ESEO Activated
ESA have just released a new mission update for the ESEO Mission It can be seen at https://www esa int/Education/ESEO/ESEO_mission_updates
FUNcube is delighted that the BPSK telemetry transmitter on its payload was enabled for a period of just over 200 minutes in orbit
Although they were not able to announce this activation in advance, more than ten stations around the world successfully received the telemetry on 145 895 MHz and submitted it to the FUNcube Data Warehouse They are very grateful to them for their support
Over 50 channels of Real Time and Whole Orbit Data were collected For example, a number of on-board temperatures which covers the period from 11:58 to 13:36 UTC The very last frame received was captured by PQ2HX in Brazil at around 14:17 UTC
They are keenly awaiting further possibilities to exercise more of the payload as soon as this becomes possible but, in the meantime, is good to know that all the telemetry channels reported nominal values
Read the entire article at https://funcube org uk/
[ANS thanks FUNcube for the above information]
ARISS/SAREX Teacher wins AIAA Achievement Award
Upper St Clair High School Education Coordinator Patricia Palazzolo in Upper St Clair, PA was one of three recipients who received recently, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Foundation Educator Achievement Award This award recognizes K-12 educators for their outstanding work promoting STEM subjects among America's youth Patricia's students have been involved in ham radio contacts with astronauts on both the Space Shuttle and the ISS She and her students presented a paper on her STEM programs at the 2004 AMSAT Symposium in Washington DC The article about her award is at: https://tinyurl com/ANS146-AIAAAward
Her school's website write-up is at: https://www uscsd k12 pa us/Page/1105
Her AMSAT Symposium paper is posted at: https://tinyurl com/ANS146-SymposiumPaper
Patricia Palazzolo is a grade 7 - 12 Gifted Coordinator in the Upper St Clair (PA) School District, but is probably best known as "Pennsylvania Teacher-in-Space " In 1985, she was named Pennsylvania finalist for what was to become the ill-fated Challenger mission In that role, she has addressed over 50,000 Americans and conducted teacher workshops from Colorado to New Brunswick Her students have sent sea-monkeys and Chia Pet seeds into orbit with John Glenn, spoken with cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev while he circled the Earth as the first Russian on the American space shuttle, and contacted astronaut Mike Fincke on the International Space Station via amateur radio Pat was the 2002 recipient of the Anne Morrow Lindbergh K-12 Aerospace Educator Award
[ANS thanks the AIAA via Frank Bauer, KA3HDO for the above information ]
Call for Nominations - AMSAT Board of Directors
It's time to submit nominations for the upcoming AMSAT Board of Directors election Four directors' terms expire this year: those of Jerry Buxton, N0JY; Clayton Coleman, W5PFG; Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA; and Paul Stoetzer, N8HM In addition, up to two Alternates may be elected for one-year terms
A valid nomination requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT member for Director Written nominations, consisting of the nominee's name and call, and the nominating individuals' names, calls and individual signatures should be mailed to:
AMSAT 10605 CONCORD ST STE 304 KENSINGTON MD 20895-2526
In addition to traditional submissions of written nominations, which is the preferred method, the intent to nominate someone may be made by electronic means These include e-mail, fax, or electronic image of a petition Electronic petitions should be sent to martha at amsat org or faxed to +1-301-822-4371
No matter what means is used, petitions MUST arrive at the AMSAT office no later than June 15th If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required If electronic means are used, a verifying traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT office within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT BYLAWS
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information]
AMSAT Golf Fundraising is Underway!
AMSAT Golf fundraising is underway more than ever before Once again, we have stocked the store with some neat stuff
You can order from the AMSAT online store a set of 3 golf balls One has the Golf Tee logo, one has the Golf-1 logo and one has the AMSAT 50th Anniversary logo for only $50
But, if you really want something special, you can get the same three golf balls signed by three AMSAT Presidents, Keith Baker, KB1SF; Barry Baines, WD4ASW; and Joe Spier, K6WAO, for only $100
Both are available at the AMSAT online store under the Trinkets tab and only while supplies last If we run out of the signed golf balls, we will have more signed
Coming soon - 2019 AMSAT tee Shirts, golf shirts, hats, decals and pins
[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information]
ESEO Mission Hampered by Anomaly
After having started its in orbit commissioning, since a few weeks the ESEO mission has been experiencing an anomaly The educational path of the ESEO students however continues
The ESEO AMSAT-UK radio payload was successfully activated in the morning of 12 April 2019, and it started transmitting its payload telemetry These data were received by many radio amateurs around the globe
Unfortunately, a few hours after the AMSAT-UK activation, ESEO suddenly started to behave anomalously, repeatedly sending the same notification message to ground, which normally should have been sent only once The continuous use of the radio transmitter to send these notifications, in combination with the AMSAT-UK activation, led to a temporary discharge of the battery when the spacecraft was in eclipse This under-voltage then triggered the protections to automatically shut-down the AMSAT-UK payload
A clear reason for the anomaly has not been identified yet, but the most accredited hypothesis is a possible radiation effect on a memory cell, which in principle could be recovered through an automatic reboot of the on-board computer (data handling system), that cannot however be anticipated
In the meanwhile, until this malfunction is resolved, ESEO cannot receive tele-commands and its in-orbit commissioning cannot continue However, ESEO can still transmit correctly Every 5 minutes the spacecraft sends to ground general data on its health status The data show that the satellites power subsystem is able to correctly recharge the batteries of the spacecraft, and that the electrical and thermal parameters of the satellite do not show significant anomalies
These data are systematically stored in a database and are accessible on-line to the ESEO students for educational purposes
The students of the University of Bologna, responsible of the ESEO Mission Control Centre, in Forlì (Italy), commented: We are looking forward to the in-depth analysis of all the ESEO telemetry which we are receiving regularly This will offer us a lot to learn, they continued Every unexpected difficulty we had to deal with so far during the ESEO mission operations pushed us to stretch our knowledge in order to find the way to resolve it Now we are looking forward to resolve also the current issues to be able to complete the in-orbit commissioning "
On 28 May 2019 we will hold a dedicated webinar for all the ESEO student teams, said Piero Galeone, responsible of the ESA Academy programme of which ESEO is a part The objective is to illustrate and explain the current status of the mission This will be followed in July 2019 by a whole workshop focused on the ESEO in-flight experience, in order to enhance the students learning opportunities at maximum extent
[ANS thanks the ESA for the above information ]
ARRL Updates TQSL Data for New Satellites
The ARRL has released TQSL configuration file config xml version 11 8, adding PO-101 and AISAT1 as valid satellites for LoTW
Changed in this release:
In the Satellite enumeration, added entries for: - AISAT1 - AISAT-1 AMSAT India APRS Digipeater - PO-101 - Philippines-OSCAR-101 (Diwata-2)
In the ADIFMODE enumeration, added an entry for: - FT4 as submode of MFSK
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information ]
ARISS Hamvention Forum Slides Available for Download
Did you know that ARISS is the longest continuously running payload on the ISS? Or, that ARISS is poised to follow astronauts to the Lunar Gateway mission? How about that students relay APRS messages through ARISS to control robots thousands of miles away?
These are some of the interesting facts that approximately 150 people attending the ARISS forum at Hamvention learned
In addition to ARISS staff presentations, forum attendees also enjoyed an appearance by ARRL CEO Howard Michel, WB2ITX as well as NASA Flight Surgeon Keith Brandt, WD9GET and broadcast personality Gordon West, WB6NOA
The forum was conducted by Frank Bauer, KA3HDO who is ISS Ham Radio Program Manager & Principal Investigator, ARISS International Chair, and AMSAT V P for Human Spaceflight Programs Frank has made the entire set of slides available for viewing You can download the complete PowerPoint presentation (52 slides in a 7 Mb file) at: https://tinyurl com/ans-146-ariss-slides
[ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO for the above information ]
ARISS SSTV Planned Over Russia for Moscow Aviation Institute
A Russian MAI-SSTV event is planned for Wednesday, June 5 from
12:00-16:00 UTC and June 6 from 11:30-15:30 UTC
Transmissions are
expected to be at 145
800 MHz in SSTV mode PD120
Based on the times
received, SSTV signals are not expected over N
America
This event uses a computer in the ISS Russian Segment, which stores images that are then transmitted to Earth using the ARISS Amateur Radio station located in the Service Module which employs the Kenwood TM-D710E transceiver
Amateur radio operators and other radio enthusiasts are invited to post the images they receive at http://www spaceflightsoftware com/ARISS_SSTV/index php
Please note that the event is dependent on other activities, schedules and crew responsibilities on the ISS and is subject to change at any time
Online radios can be used to receive signals from the International Space Station at SUWS WebSDR located Farnham near London http://farnham-sdr com/ and R4UAB WebSDR located European Russia http://websdr r4uab ru/
For updates check Twitter at https://twitter com/ARISS_status/status/1131945966297182210?s=03
[ANS thanks ARISS and AMSAT-UK for the above information ]
Upcoming Satellite Operations
WY CO TX Roadtrip (DN71, DM77, DM95, DM85) May 24-28, 2019 Clayton, W5PFG is hitting the road and bringing his AMSAT gear with him - May 24-26 DN71 (WY) - May 26-27 DM77 (CO) - May 27-28 DM95/DM85 (TX) All FM/SSB satellites, holiday-style Open to schedules with EU Watch Twitter feed for more updates: https://twitter com/w5pfg
Nova Scotia, Canada (FN84+) May 18 though June 2, 2019 Ron, AD0DX, will be operating from Nova Scotia using his Canadian call sign VA3IIR, from FN97 afternoon of May 29th, and around the FN95/96 GN05/06 grid corner the through June 2nd (Note, expected grid corner activation afternoon of June 1st) This will be a holiday-style roving trip, with specific pass announcements posted to Twitter feed https://twitter com/ad0dx
Idaho (DN23) May 31, 2019 Dennis, N7EGY, will be traveling through DN23 on May 31 and will stop to work passes on AO-92 (1715Z & 1848Z) and AO-91 (1740Z & 1915Z)
Pre-Hot Rod Power Tour Rove (Wyoming to Tennessee) June 2-7, 2019 On June 2nd, RJ, WY7AA and the Elco will head South to start roving on the DM77/78 gridline, heading east working gridlines and corners along the way all the way to EM87/88 hopefully RJ will try to be on as many FM passes as possible, with a few linears as time allows Follow RJ on APRS fi as WY7AA-9, as he will not have Twtter access along the road Checkout WY7AAs QRZ page for specific plans he will post before he leaves, and @dtabor (N6UA) will help by posting on Twitter if he has any updates from the road
Toronto, Canada May 24-30, 2019 Matthew, VO1WEB, will be heading to Toronto May 24th-30th He will be bringing his FM satellite gear with him, and will be working rover around the downtown Toronto and Niagara Falls area Watch Matthews Twitter feed for further updates https://twitter com/VO1WEB
Memorial Day Weekend on the Queen Mary May 25-27, 2019 Satellite operating will make a return to the RMS Queen Mary during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend (25-27 May 2019), as part of the Memorial Day Salute to Service by the Queen Mary W6RO will be on the satellites, as well as the HF bands, during these 3 days The Queen Mary will be honoring those who have served in the armed forces, and in particular the Queen Marys use as a troopship during World War II The Queen Mary, along with other cruise ships, were pressed into service to ferry Allied soldiers around the world Along with the other activities planned on the ship, some of which are already listed on the Queen Marys web site at https://www queenmary com/calendar-of-events/memorial-day/home/
Pacific Northwest (CN85, CN83/CN84, CN76/CN86) May 31 to June 2, 2019 Casey, KI7UNJ, will be on in CN83/84 Friday, May 31st, CN85 Saturday, June 1st, and CN76/86 Sunday, June 2nd The pass list to come in the next few weeks
Minnesota, eh? (EN37, EN38) June 1, 2019 Paul, KE0PBR, will be making a trip up to the Iron Range to activate EN37 and EN38 Upon arrival, he will attempt to find a good spot to operate from the grid line, but this is a very rural and hilly area, full of trees Plan is for mostly linears, bit will do FM when possible There is a possibility of activating additional grids along the way DM or email Paul, if you need a grid near there You can follow him on aprs fi (KE0PBR-9) and monitor him on DMR 98006 (AMSAT room) In addition, watch Pauls Twitter feed for further announcements at https://twitter com/KE0PBR for possible updates (limited cell coverage area)
EM57/EM67 Line June 4, 2019 Michael, N4DCW, will be at the EM57/67 line on June 4, 2019 Hell post satellite passes a week before on twitter and the -bb, but will plan for the AO-9x and SO-50 midday passes FM only On the day of, Michael will post updates via his twitter feed at https://twitter com/MWimages
Hot Rod Power Tour Rove (North Carolina to Ohio) June 8-14, 2019 From June 8th to 14th, WY7AA will be traveling with several thousand other Hot Rods along a winding route from NC to OH RJ will mostly be activating in the evenings on FM passes including grids EM95, FM06, EM86, EM78, EM69, EN71, and EN81 Checkout the event route at https://www hotrod com/articles/hot-rod-power-tour-2019-dates- locations-june-8th-14th/ (Note the line break in the URL - Ed ) And, if anyone is anywhere close to the route, come out and see the spectacle and let RJ know on Twitter if you are coming out Follow RJ on APRS fi as WY7AA-9
Casey, KI7UNJ, will be hitting a few grids on his way home Look for DN13/DN14 line on June 14th, DN21/DN22 line June 15th, DN22 on June 17th, and DN23 on June 18th FM only Pass times expected between 1700-2000UTC Specific passes to be posted on Caseys Twitter feed at https://twitter com/KI7UNJ
Post Hot Rod Power Tour Rove (New York to Wyoming) June 15-27, 2019 Following the Hot Rod Power Tour, I will be heading to FN02 for a few days and plan to work FN01/11 gridline around June 17-18 Details to follow I will be heading as far east as FN32 and then eventually working my way back to DN71 Specifically looking for EN01/02 along the way Details will be posted to Twitter and my QRZ page as the trip plans unfold Follow me on APRS fi as WY7AA-9, as he will not have Twitter access along the road
Casey, KI7UNJ, will be wandering around Eastern Oregon and decided to do a little grid activating Look for Casey on FM passes in DN04 mid-Friday, June 28th, in DN15 Friday night to Saturday evening, and DN05 Sunday morning Specific passes to be posted on Caseys Twitter feed at https://twitter com/KI7UNJ
Iceland (HP95 IP15 IP25 IP03 HP03) July 13-19, 2019
Adam, K0FFY, is taking his family (and his radios) to Iceland
Tentative schedule is HP95 on July 13, IP13 and IP15 on July 14-15,
IP25 on July 16, IP03 or HP93 on July 17-18, and HP94 on July 19
Theres a lot to see, so passes will be best effort and announced on
Twitter shortly prior at https://twitter
com/K0FFY_Radio
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information ]
ARISS News
Curtin Primary School, Canberra, Australia, telebridge via K6DUE The ISS callsign was NA1SS The astronaut was Nick Hague, KG5TMV The contact was successful: Mon 2019-05-20 08:39:42 UTC
Ufa, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Konenenko Contact is go for: Sun 2019-05-26 15:55 UTC
Pacific Coast Schools, Los Suenos, Costa Rica, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques, KG5FYI Contact is go for: Mon 2019-05-27 16:31:25 UTC 34 deg (Starting about 15 minutes before AOS, watch for a live stream at www ariotti com )
Mildred Hall School, Yellowknife, NT, Canada, telebridge via ON4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques, KG5FYI Contact is go for: Mon 2019-05-27 19:44:22 UTC 81 deg
Walter Murray Collegiate Institute, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada via VK6MJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques, KG5FYI Contact is go for: Mon 2019-05-27 20:18:50 UTC 48 deg
Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Aleksey Ovchinin Contact is a go for Wed 2019-06-05 07:50 UTC
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information ]
Satellite Shorts from All Over
The AMSAT office is closed through Monday, May 27, 2019 to observe the Memorial Day holiday
[ANS thanks Martha Saragovitz for the above information ]
Engineering com posted an informative article about Diwata-2 on May 20, 2019 The article is oriented for the non-Amateur Radio audience but gives enough specific information for those interested to learn more about how to learn more about Amateur Radio and how it is used in satellite missions Read the entire article at https://tinyurl com/ans-146-diwata-2
CNN Philippines also featured a one-and-a-half minute segment about Filipino researchers and engineers who developed a satellite that can be used in times of disaster Diwata-2 and its Amateur Radio component are nicely featured in the segment Watch the video at https://www youtube com/watch?v=n51a_sIBcRA&feature=youtu be
[ANS thanks Engineering com and CNN for the above information ]
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
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