AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-335

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, 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 commun- icating 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

You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www amsat org/mailman/listinfo/ans

In this edition:

• AMSAT Fox Leaderboard Will Show Monthly Leaders
• AMSAT Will Be at Superstition Superfest Hamfest
• Electron Booster on the Pad for Rocket Lab’s 10th Mission
• FCC Seeks to Clear Radio Amateurs Out of 3 4 GHz
• WRC-19 Final Report: Small Satellites and the 1240-1300 MHz Band
• AMSAT Auction Celebrating 45th Birthday of AO-7 Raises $480
• Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
• Upcoming Satellite Operations
• Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-335 01 ANS-335 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 335 01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD DATE 2019 Dec 01 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-335 01

AMSAT Fox Leaderboard Will Show Monthly Leaders

Starting from Nov 26, the AMSAT Fox Telemetry leaderboard will now show MONTHLY totals The top stations will be those that have submit- ted the most telemetry in the last 30 days The old style leaderboard can be accessed by clicking "All-time Leaderboard" to see totals since the launch of Fox-1A To see more than the top 10 stations, click on "Show all ground stations" to see everyone

The leaderboard has also been updated to show PSK frames decoded along- side FSK frames DUV and Highspeed are both counted but are not shown separately on the totals page

HuskySat-1 is now at the ISS on the Cygnus We expect it to be boosted to its target orbit in the new year It will transmit BPSK telemetry continuously on 70cm, so dig out that 435Mhz antenna and make sure it works! Fox-1E will follow in the (hopefully near) future and will also transmit PSK on 70cm

As with previous spacecraft, the telemetry collected is sent to our University Partners who fly experiments and help make these missions possible Please collect and forward telemetry if you can

The link to the leaderboard is: https://www amsat org/tlm/

If there are questions, contact Chris Thompson, G0KLA/AC2CZ via email: g0kla arrl net

(ANS thanks Chris Thompson, G0KLA/AC2CZ for the above information)

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      The digital download version of the 2019 edition of
 Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a
    DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store
  Get yours today!
       https://tinyurl
com/ANS-237-Getting-Started

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AMSAT Will Be at Superstition Superfest Hamfest

AMSAT will be at the Superstition Amateur Radio Club's "Superstition Superfest" hamfest on the morning of Saturday, December 7, 2019 The hamfest will be in the southwest parking lot of Mesa Community College, located on the east side of Dobson Road between Southern Avenue and US-60 exit 177 in Mesa, Arizona More information about the hamfest is available at: http://superstitionsuperfest org/

WD9EWK will be on the satellites during the hamfest, demonstrating satellite operating If you hear WD9EWK on a pass that morning, please call and be a part of a demonstration The hamfest site is in grid DM43, in Arizona's Maricopa County QSOs made during the hamfest will be uploaded to Logbook of the World, and QSL cards are available on request (please e-mail WD9EWK directly at patrick wd9ewk net with the QSO details)

[ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK, for the above information]

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Donate to AMSAT Tax-Free From Your IRA

Are you over 70-1/2 years of age and need to meet your IRA's Required Minimum Distribution for 2019? Consider making a donation to AMSAT!

Under the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, individuals over 70-1/2 years of age may make direct transfers of up to $100,000 per year from a traditional IRA to an eligible charity without increasing their taxable income Consult your tax advisor or accountant to make certain you are eligible

AMSAT is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational and scientific organization whose purpose is to design, construct, launch, and operate satellites in space and to provide the support needed to encourage amateurs to utilize these resources AMSAT's federal tax ID is 52-0888529

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Electron Booster on the Pad for Rocket Lab’s 10th Mission

Rocket Lab has announced that its next mission will launch multiple microsatellites in a rideshare mission representing five different countries The launch window for Rocket Lab’s tenth flight, will open November 25, New Zealand time, and take place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula

Onboard this rideshare mission are six spacecraft comprised of 5cm PocketQube microsatellites from satellite manufacturer and mission management provider Alba Orbital Two of these satellites include downlinks in the UHF amateur radio band

TRSI is a PocketQube for technology demostration Its main objective is to show which functionality can be achieved with dimensions of 5cm x 5cm x 5cm It carries two experiments that are connected to the amateur-satellite service

• First is a waterfall experiment which will show an image in the waterfall diagram by hopping the frequency within its transmission band (image-type beacon)

• The second experiment is to analyze RF reception capabilities from LEO with a novel detector receiver and a small patch antenna It was designed to test if small satellite receivers which don´t need deployable antennas are feasible The received signal´s envelope will be sampled and forwarded using UHF in MFSK for signal ana- lysis During the experiment phase the satellite will also perform as an amateur CW repeater, providing additional RX strength indi- cation; eg CW morse signals will be re-sent in MFSK, showing the RX amplitude in dBm A downlink on 437 075 MHz has been coordinated

IARU Frequency Coordination information has been posted at: http://www amsatuk me uk/iaru/finished_detail php?serialnum=649

FossaSat-1 PocketQube by AMSAT-EA which has a 5x5x5cm structure and a total mass of 250 grams Radio link testing features a new experi- mental RF chirp modulation called LoRa which greatly improves the link budget reducing the power consumed and reduces the cost of receivers

The output power from the transmitter required for the correct recep- tion during a pass is also very low at well under 100mW, being spread spectrum at such low power it poses no interference risk It operates at a considerable level below the noise level of other systems and would cause no interference to weak narrowband signals

Students & amateurs will be able to receive telemetry from the satel- lite with inexpensive hardware, expanding & promoting the amateur sat- ellite community with youth Uplink challenges will also be carried out with rewards for amateurs

The mission is completely open source with all information regarding the design of the satellite & how to decode its information clearly laid out & hosted by AMSAT-EA The site will provide decoding soft- ware for SDR use in order to allow anyone to decode LoRa using common existing hardware & host software for users to submit telemetry data, making all data public and rewarding users with certificates & awards The UHF downlink plans on using FSK RTTY 45 BAUD ITA2, 100mW 183hz Shift and LoRa 125kHz, Chirp Spread Spectrum Modulation, 180 bps, 100mW A downlink on 436 700 MHz has been coordinated

IARU Frequency Coordination information has been posted at: http://www amsatuk me uk/iaru/finished_detail php?serialnum=652

A commercial payload on board is ALE-2 from a Tokyo-based company creating microsatellites that simulate meteor particles See http://star-ale com/en/news/317/2019/01/04/ for more information

Rocket Labs mission web page can be found at: https://tinyurl com/y672rjj5

[ANS thanks Rocket Labs, IARU, AMSAT-EA, TRSI, and Alba Orbital for the above information]

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      Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront

     25% of the purchase price of each product goes
       towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
         https://www
zazzle
com/amsat_gear

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FCC Seeks to Clear Radio Amateurs Out of 3 4 GHz

At its December 12 open meeting, the FCC will consider adopting a No- tice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes to remove the amateur radio 9-centimeter allocation at 3 3 – 3 5 GHz ARRL plans to comment in opposition to the proposed action According to an FCC “Fact Sheet,” the proceeding WT Docket 19-348, “Facilitating Shared Use in the 3 1 – 3 55 GHz Band,” is a follow-on from the MOBILE NOW Act, approved by the 115th Congress, which requires the FCC and the US Department of Comm- erce to make available new spectrum for mobile and fixed wireless broad- band use It also requires the FCC to work with the National Telecom- munications and Information Administration (NTIA) to evaluate whether commercial wireless services and federal incumbents could share spec- trum between 3 1 and 3 55 GHz NTIA manages spectrum allocated to fed- eral government users

“This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would propose to remove the exist- ing non-federal allocations in the 3 3 – 3 55 GHz band as a step to- wards potential future shared use between federal incumbents and com- mercial users,” the FCC Fact Sheet explains “By taking the initial step needed to clear the band of allocations for non-federal incum- bents, the Commission furthers its continued efforts to make more mid- band spectrum potentially available to support next generation wireless networks — consistent with the mandate of the MOBILE NOW [Making Oppor- tunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless] Act ”

The NPRM proposes to clear the 3 3 – 3 55 GHz band of existing non-fed- eral users by removing non-federal secondary radiolocation and amateur allocations [emphasis added] in the 3 3 – 3 55 GHz band and to relocate incumbent non-federal users out of the band The FCC would seek comment on relocation options and “transition mechanisms” for incumbent non- federal users, either to the 3 1 – 3 3 GHz band or to other frequencies, and on how to ensure that non-federal secondary operations in the 3 1– 3 3 GHz band will continue to protect federal radar systems

Regarding the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite Service allocations, the FCC NPRM asks whether existing amateur spectrum in other bands might support operations currently conducted in the 3 3 – 3 5 GHz band The 3 40 – 3 41 GHz segment is designated for amateur satellite communica- tion “We seek comment on the extent to which the band is used for this purpose, whether existing satellites can operate on other amateur satellite bands, and on an appropriate timeframe for terminating these operations in this band,” the FCC NPRM says

Also at its December 12 meeting, the FCC will consider another NPRM in WT Docket 19-138 that would “take a fresh and comprehensive look” at the rules for the 5 9 GHz band and propose, among other things, to make the lower 45 MHz of the band available for unlicensed operations and to permit “Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything” (C-V2X) operations in the upper 20 MHz of the band The FCC is not proposing to delete or other- wise amend the amateur allocation, and it would continue as a secon- dary allocation, but the primary allocation for 5 850 – 5 925 GHz would change

The amateur radio 5-centimeter allocation is 5650 0 – 5925 0 MHz, and the NPRM, if approved, would address the top 75 MHz of that amateur secondary band While no changes are proposed to the amateur alloca- tion, anticipated more intensive use by primary users could restrict secondary amateur use

The band 5 850–5 925 GHz has been reserved for use by dedicated short- range communications (DSRC), a service in the intelligent transporta- tion system (ITS) designed to enable vehicle-related communications, the FCC said in a Fact Sheet in WT Docket 19-138 “The Commission ini- tiates this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to take a fresh and compre- hensive look at the 5 9 GHz band rules and propose appropriate changes to ensure the spectrum supports its highest and best use ” ARRL also will file comments opposing any changes affecting the 5-centimeter amateur allocation

Both draft FCC proposals are subject to change prior to a vote at the December 12 FCC meeting, and there will be opportunity to file com- ments and reply comments on the final proposals after they are re- leased

[ANS thanks ARRL for the above information]

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WRC-19 Final Report: Small Satellites and the 1240-1300 MHz Band

In the final week, the meetings at WRC-19 have been running until 3 in the morning in an attempt to get the work completed

The RSGB have released their WRC-19 report covering small satellites and also the Amateur 1240-1300 MHz band

The report notes “A lesson from the process indicates how difficult it may be in future to achieve any upgrade to other amateur allocations ”

Read the RSGB Small Satellites and 23cm report at https://tinyurl com/vjfho66

Friday, November 22 saw WRC-19 conclude its month long biggest ever conference Many of the 3,300 delegates had started to travel home even before the release of the ‘Provisional Final Acts’ and closing ceremony

The ITU website has released the provisional acts as a huge 567-page PDF document—a tribute to the the hardworking editorial and transla- tion teams at the conference These provisional acts are due to come into force on January 1, 2021, so no early changes are currently ex- pected in practice

Read the RSGB WRC-19 Final report at https://tinyurl com/qjw9kvd

WRC-19 Provisional Final Acts – a 567 page document - is available at https://tinyurl com/tyzfvl3

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,

and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://amsat org/product-category/hardware/

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AMSAT Auction Celebrating 45th Birthday of AO-7 Raises $480

The auctions for a set of gold-plated AO-7 cufflinks and a 50th Anniversary AMSAT lab coat recently concluded and raised $480 to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space Thank you to all of the bidders for participating in the auctions!

If you missed out on the auctions, but still want to help out, please consider donating or purchasing items from the AMSAT store at www amsat org today!

[ANS thanks Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, for the above information]

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule

MAOU Lyceum No 39, Nizhny Tagil, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Alexander Skvortsov Contact is go for: 2011-11-30 14:15 UTC

Council Rock High School South, Holland, Pa , direct via KC3NGG The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Thu 2019-12-05 17:56:31 UTC 71 deg

B Pascal Institute - Public School, Rome, Italy, direct via IKØMGA and Istituto Comprensivo Lipari “S Lucia”, Lipari, Italy, direct via ID9GKS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Sat 2019-12-07 11:44:00 UTC 45 deg

For more information, the ARISS webpage is at https://www ariss org/

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

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AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www amsat org/donate/

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Upcoming Satellite Operations

Nunavut, Canada (ER60) November 11 - December 6, 2019 The Eureka Amateur Radio Club, VY0ERC, will be on station, the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory, November 6th through Dec- ember 11th They have some house keeping duties to perform on arrival and just before they leave, not to mention that it's wicked cold up there (-25 to -35C not counting windchill), so keep an eye on the VY0ERC twitter feed for announcements on when they plan to step out- side: https://twitter com/vy0erc

Key West (EL94) December 3-6, 2019 Tanner, W9TWJ, will be vacationing in Key West December 3rd - 6th Key word is vacation, but he will jump on some FM satellite passes to act- ivate EL94 for those that need it or just want to chat Watch Tanner's Twitter feed for further announcements: https://twitter com/twjones85

Key West (EL94) December 3-6, 2019 Tanner, W9TWJ, will be vacationing in Key West December 3rd – 6th Key word is vacation, but he will jump on some FM satellite passes to ac- tivate EL94 for those that need it or just want to chat Watch Tanner’s Twitter feed for further announcements: https://twitter com/twjones85

Hawaii (BK19, BK28, BK29, BL20) December 21-28, 2019 Alex, N7AGF, is heading back to Hawaii over Christmas This will be a holiday-style activation, with special empahasis on the grid that got away - BK28 Keep an eye on Alex's Twitter feed for further announce- ments: https://twitter com/N7AGF

Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat org

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

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Satellite Shorts From All Over

• NASA's "Ride to Station" App and Educator Guide equips educators with simple tools and knowledge to take a fun, interactive app and turn it into a powerful, educational tool for students of all ages! The in- teractive app gives an overview of the complexities involved in get- ting to and conducting research aboard the International Space Sta- tion The app is also challenging and fun! The Commercial Crew Pro- gram focuses on working with NASA’s two partners Boeing and SpaceX to create American commercial capabilities to safely send humans to and from the International Space Station For more information see: https://tinyurl com/vj9gyfr (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)

• Rovers and some multiop VHF/UHF contest stations will be interested in the future Down East Microwave DEM V/U Xverter This device covers ALL 5 OF THE AMATEUR BANDS between 144 MHz and 1 2 GHz According to the preliminary information from the manufacturer: "All frequencies convert to/from 28 MHz The transmit output level is approximately 1 watt and will exhibit a 2 dB noise figure with greater than 15 dB gain on all bands The Transverter will also contain an AUX RF port that will be configured as an additional 2M port for connection to a higher frequency transverter such as our future DEM MICRO-VERTER con- taining 4 additional higher bands of operation " (ANS thanks Pete Heins, N6ZE, the Pacific NorthWest VHF Society, and www downeastmicrowave com for the above information)

• Rocket Lab has partnered with Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) to be the sole provider of ground station services for the Electron launch vehicle and Photon satellite bus customers KSAT’s KSATlite ground network is designed and optimized for small satellite systems, providing Photon customers with downlink and uplink capabilities in UHF, S-band, X-band, and Ka-band across a global ground station net- work of over 200 antennas that supports 50,000 contacts per month (ANS thanks SatMagazine com for the above information)

• NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) will be testing an improved waveform on the 48-MHz Tropospheric Doppler Radar Wind Profiler (TDRWP) from Monday, November 25 through Sunday, December 2 The purpose of the test is to improve the instrument’s resolution and still operate with- in the assigned bandwidth NASA is requesting the amateur radio com- munity to report via email to ksc-tdrwptest@mail nasa gov any detect- ed emissions in the 50 – 54 MHz band dur ing that period Include the date, time, location, frequency, and any other pertinent informa- tion (such as IQ files of the signal for evaluation) that might as- sist NASA in assessing potential impacts to the amateur radio comm- unity (ANS thanks ARRL for the above information)

• NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting 12:51 p m EST Wednesday, Dec 4, for the launch of its 19th resupply mission to the International Space Station under contract with the agency Live coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency’s website Tues- day, Dec 3, with prelaunch events The Dragon spacecraft, which will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Sta- tion in Florida, will be filled with supplies and payloads, includ- ing critical materials to directly support dozens of the more than 250 science investigations and technology demonstrations that will occur during Expeditions 61 and 62 (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)

• Jerri Ellsworth, AI6TK, who was the AMSAT/TAPR guest speaker at Day- ton in 2018, was featured as a "technology visionary" by the New York Times in an article first published in October, but highlighted once again in a series wrap-up on Nov 26 Those who have a N Y Times online account can access the story at https://tinyurl com/tmkhqaq

• ANS wishes a happy Thanksgiving holiday weekend (or what remains of it) to all U S satellite operators!

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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 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor,

K0JM at amsat dot org

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