AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-145

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@amsat org

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In this edition:

• AMSAT Announces 2020 Field Day Rules
• AMSAT Awards Update
• AO-27 Returns from the Dead
• Updated GOLF Project Information Available
• Changing HuskySat-1 Keps Name in FoxTelem
• Hack-a-Sat Team Boasts Exceptional Participation
• Upcoming Satellite Operations
• ARISS News
• Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
• Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-145 01 ANS-145 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 145 01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD DATE 2020-May-24 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-145 01

AMSAT Announces 2020 Field Day Rules

It’s that time of year again; summer and Field Day! Each year the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field Day as a “picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN!” The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own version of Field Day for operation via the amateur satellites, held concurrently with the ARRL event

For 2020, the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 27, 2020 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 28, 2020 Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 27 can operate only 24 hours

AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards Bruce Paige, KK5DO, has an- nounced the rules for the 2020 event

Paige notes that "AMSAT has followed the ARRL when it comes to the date, times and most rules with regard to Field Day [ARRL has made some modifications due to COVID-19] With that in mind, AMSAT is going to have to adapt as well "

Paige further elaborates, "What we will do for AMSAT Field Day is con- centrate on rovers and operating from home " In line with this new concentration, the awards issued this year will be modified The top three club stations will receive certificates as will the top three stations overall (instead of the top three home operators on emergency power) AMSAT will also award certificates to the top three roving stations

The 2020 rules can be found at https://www amsat org/field-day/

[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards, for the above information]

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     Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office
is closed until further notice
 For details, please visit

https://www amsat org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/

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AMSAT Awards Update

This is my first update on the awards for 2020 They used to slowly trickle in However, over the last two months, there have been a lot of submissions AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award for making their first satellite QSO

Frank Karnauskas, N1UW Hiroto Miura, JI8UCI Jason Davis, N8PDX Andrew Stamp, N2YQO Cameron Zotter, K4DCA Angus Alexander, KJ7KOJ Gustavo Schwartz, PR8KW Richard Cutrer, KF5TQT Kurt Melden, K1SEA William McDermott, KM6MCH Robert Smith, KO4CCD Bernd Scholer, DL6IAN

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AMSAT Communications Achievement Award

Russel Kinner, WA8ZID #624 Hector Luis Martinez Sis, W5CBF #625 EM30 Hector Luis Martinez Sis, W5CBF #626 EM21 Stephan Greene, KS1G #627

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AMSAT Sexagesimal Satellite Communications Achievement Award Hector Luis Martinez Sis, W5CBF #185 EM30 Hector Luis Martinez Sis, W5CBF #186 EM21 Stephan Greene, KS1G #187

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AMSAT Century Club Award Hector Luis Martinez Sis, W5CBF #55 EM30

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AMSAT South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award

Russel Kinner, WA8ZID #US225 Hector Luis Martinez Sis, W5CBF #US226 EM30 Hector Luis Martinez Sis, W5CBF #US227 EM21 Wade Stuart, N0TEL #US228 Stephan Greene, KS1G #US229

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AMSAT Robert W Barbee Jr , W4AMI Award (1,000-4,000) John Stone, KC9VGG #98 Christy Hunter, KB6LTY, #99 (4,000) Mitchell Ahrenstorff, AD0HJ #100 (2,000) Dave Chasey, N9FN #101 Paul Overn, KE0PBR #102 (3,000) Robert Sours, K9UO #103 (2,000) Kell Bodholt, KI7UXT #104 (2,000) Wade Stuart, N0TEL #105 (2,000) Michael Frazier, KJ5Z #106 Nicholas Mahr, KE8AKW #107 Jerod Speck, W4ZXT #108 Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ #109

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AMSAT Robert W Barbee Jr , W4AMI Award (5,000) Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA #35 Christy Hunter, KB6LTY #37

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AMSAT Rover Award Rover Call

051 PR8KW

052 LW2DAF

053 N0TEL

To see all the awards visit http://www amsat org and click on Services then Awards

[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards for the above information]

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AO-27 Returns from the Dead

A number of amateurs have reported that the FM repeater of AO-27 has been active for brief intervals in recent weeks When commanded on by control operators, the transponder is active for about two minutes be- fore reverting to telemetry transmissions only

Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, remarks that AO-27 wasn't originally intended to be an FM satellite It lacks the audio filtering normally seen with a n FM receiver, since its uplink receiver was going to be used for data With the lack of audio filtering on the uplink receiver, AO-27 was used for tests with D-Star radios

The Wayback Machine has captures of the former ao27 org web site, de- tailing how those tests were done Two radios were used for those D- Star QSOs, one for uplink and the other for downlink)

Many are hopeful that control stations will eventually be able to re- cover the satellite sufficiently to provide more regular operation In the meantime, if you hear the satellite active, make your contacts quickly!

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

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Updated GOLF Project Information Available

The AMSAT website has posted updated information on the next series of satellites, intended to succeed the current Fox satellites AMSAT is developing a satellite program that should see amateur transponders in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and eventually High Earth Orbit (HEO)

GOLF is an acronym for "Greater Orbit, Larger Footprint"

The goal of the GOLF program is to work by steps through a series of increasingly capable spacecraft to learn skills and systems for which we do not yet have any low-risk experience Among these are active at- titude control, deployable/steerable solar panels, radiation tolerance for Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) components in higher orbits, and propulsion

The first step is to be one or more Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites similar to the existing AO-91 and AO-92, but with technologies needed for higher orbits With proven technologies, an interim high LEO or Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite would follow on

The eventual goal is a High Earth Orbit (HEO) similar to AO-10, AO-13, and AO-40, but at a currently affordable cost combined with signifi- cantly enhanced capabilities which in turn will allow the use of much less complex ground stations

Read the AMSAT GOLF article at: https://bit ly/2WPV9WN

[ANS thanks @amsat and Southgate ARC 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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Changing HuskySat-1 Keps Name in FoxTelem

Instructions for updating FoxTelem (including Fox-in-a-box) so that HuskySat-1 keps are now downloaded as HO-107

Go to the Spacecraft menu and select Husky (or something else if you have changed the name) In the upper left is a section that says "Name (for Keps)" and the box to the right should say "HuskySat-1" Just change that to HO-107 Done

Note that HuskySat-1 is no longer in the downloaded keps, so the one you have will get older and more out-of-date until you change the name Don't forget you will need to do something similar with MacDoppler or SatPC32 or any other tracking program you have

[ANS thanks Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, for the above information]

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Hack-a-Sat Team Boasts Exceptional Participation

The Vaporsec "Capture The Flag" (CTF) team, specifically open to ama- teur radio operators, has seen the largest turnout for a CTF competi- tion in team history, for this satellite-themed event We have over 20 signed up for the qualifications event this coming weekend We believe that based on the diversity, quality, and positive can-do spirit, that we have a chance at being competitive and moving on to the final round in late summer

We had a successful team organizational meeting last night are are looking forward to a Friday 5pm Pacific start time I'm looking forward to being able to share how amateur radio operators and practical exper- ience carried the day!

The point of the competition seems to be the Air Force wanting to see that the current level of competence is out there with respect to sat- ellite operations and security Hints have included backgrounders on ADAC, Satellite IoT platform security, protocols, ground control, and more Rules and link to the Hack-a-Sat website are at: https://www hackasat com/

Something that we noticed is that an unsolved challenge in last week- end's DEFCON CTF qualifier round was from the same team that is put- ting on Hack-a-Sat CTF

So! If you are wondering what kind of challenges are posed to partici- pants in a CTF, here is that satellite-themed challenge We expect this sort of thing to be the starting point for an entire weekend of satel- lite reverse engineering, puzzle solving, and rogue-craft-wrangling

There are two files related to the challenge The challenge text and the two files can be found at: https://bit ly/2yrFlQM

See you on the other side of the CTF! We will have a write-up of the event and share any and everything we learn along the way

[ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, AMSAT Board Member, for the above information]

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Upcoming Satellite Operations

WY7AA is still in planning stages but on Monday the 26, DN82/DN72 and maybe later DN73/DN74, please watch his twitter page @WY7AA for more details

Mitch, AD0HJ, has decided to "go check on the tree" in North Dakota He will be finishing his circuit as this issue is published, but he may still be available on 5/24 UTC in EN06/16 Details on his Twitter page, @ad0hj

Ron, AD0DX, and Doug, N6UA, are making another run at the elusive DL88 in Big Bend National Park, Texas They tried this grid back in March, and due to the mud couldn’t get to the grid, so never ones to quit, off they go again The tentative date is Sunday May 31, 2020 They will be using the K5Z call sign More information is available at the K5Z QRZ Page

Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr (at) gmail com

[ANS thanks Paul Overnfor, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information]

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ARISS News

Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145 800 MHz worldwide

ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general As such, we may have last minute cancella- tions or postponements of school contacts As always, ARISS will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates at the ARISS webpage: https://www ariss org/

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team men- tors 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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Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meet- ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events

Due to COVID-19, many hamfest and events around the United States have been cancelled or postponed While we make every effort to ensure the information contained below is correct, there may be some that we missed We wish all of you safekeeping and hope to be at a hamfest near you soon

Current schedule: No scheduled events

The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have been CANCELED:

June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Com, Plano, TX

A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download from: https://bit ly/2ygVFmV This color brochure is designed to be printed double-sided and folded into a tri-fold handout

To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org

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

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Satellite Shorts From All Over

• Radio amateur and Executive Chairman of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, Sir Martin Sweeting, G3YJO, has recorded a series of home vid- eos from Coronavirus lockdown to record answers to the questions he is most frequently asked In a recent episode he talks about his in- spiration for pioneering the original SmallSats revolution and re- veals two of his favourite SSTL missions Watch Sir Martin Sweeting, G3YJO – Early Years & Favourite Missions at: https://www youtube com/watch?v=KV9gQmfmvME (ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP-Operations, and Doug Shook's page, www kc4mcq us, for the above information)

• Thailand's regulator the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has issued a special callsign to The Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST), founded under the royal patronage of the King of Thailand The call is E2STAYHOME RAST will be operating us- ing this callsign on all bands and in all modes, including on NB mode for Es'hail 2 QO-100 geostationary satellite (ANS thanks Tanan Rangseeprom, HS1JAN, for the above information)

• NASA astronauts Robert Behnken Douglas Hurley arrived at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, ahead of SpaceX's Demo-2 mission This will be the first launch with astronauts of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program Behnken and Hurley are sched- uled to launch at 4:33 p m EDT on Wednesday, May 27, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center NASA is inviting the public to help celebrate a historic milestone by participating in NASA’s virtual launch experience at: https://www nasa gov/beourguest (ANS thanks spaceref com for the above information)

• According to a new release of Union of Concerned Scientists' opera- tional satellite database, AMSAT-OSCAR 7 remains the oldest opera- ting satellite in Earth orbit The next oldest operating satellite is NASA's TDRS-3, launched 14 years after AO-7 in 1988 Details at: https://www ucsusa org/resources/satellite-database

• All issues of The AMSAT Journal from 2017 to the present are now available for AMSAT members on our new membership portal More years coming soon Get logged on today! https://launch amsat org/The_AMSAT_Journal

• Virgin Orbit has announced that the window for its Launch Demo, the first orbital test flight with LauncherOne, opens this weekend on May 24 from 10 a m to 2 p m Pacific Daylight Time (1700 to 2100z) A backup window for launch is on May 25 during the same time frame (ANS thanks Twitter account @Virgin_Orbit for the above information)

• Another record-shattering QSO was made via RS-44 last night! @KI7UNJ in Oregon worked EB1AO in Spain - a distance of 8,314 km Both sta- tions had negative elevation! Satellite distance records are main- tained at: https://www amsat org/satellite-distance-records/ (ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive VP, 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 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, Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ

ki7unj at amsat dot org

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