AMSAT NEWS SERVICE

ANS-292

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

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:

• ARRL Comments in Orbital Debris Mitigation Proceeding

• Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for October 15, 2020

• PREDICT-2 2 7 for Linux, Unix, Android, and Raspberry Pi Platforms

• ARISS News

• Upcoming Satellite Operations

• Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

• Satellite Shorts From All Over

• Tips for the New Operator

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292 01

ANS-271 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 292 01

From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD

DATE 2020 September 27

To All RADIO AMATEURS

BID: $ANS-290 01

ARRL Comments in Orbital Debris Mitigation Proceeding

10/13/2020

In comments to the FCC, ARRL targeted two specific areas of concern

regarding a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) in IB Docket

18-313 - mitigation of orbital debris in the new space age In an

earlier phase of the proceeding, ARRL filed comments and met with FCC

staff to discuss the proposed rules In comments filed on October 9,

ARRL focused on the areas of indemnification and maneuverability/propul-

sion Indemnification places the liability for any possible damage from

a satellite on an individual or entity ARRL reiterated its assertion

that, as a practical matter, an indemnification requirement "would

seriously impair the ability of amateur and university experimenters to

launch and operate satellites under US auspices" due to the potential

liability and high insurance cost

Additional information is available at the ARRL Web Site:

https://bit ly/3iZiGwj

[ANS thanks ARRL News 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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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for October 15, 2020

The following satellites have decayed from orbit and have been removed

from this week's AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution:

MO-106 - Cat ID 44830 (decay epoch = 2020-10-09 per Space-Track)

TRSI-Sat - Cat ID 44831 (decay epoch = 2020-10-11 per Space-Track)

The following satellite has an estimated decay epoch determined by Space-

Track as follows:

EnduroSat One - Cat ID 43551 - estimated decay epoch = 2020-10-15 per

Space-Track)

             (Still in orbit as of 2020-10-15 at 04:53 UTC
)

An updated set of Orbital Elements for October 15, 2020 have been dis-

tributed via the AMSAT /keps list and are available at the AMSAT website:

https://www amsat org/keplerian-elements-resources/

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, 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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PREDICT-2 2 7 for Linux, Unix, Android, and Raspberry Pi Platforms

John Maglicane, KD2BD, has announced the release of PREDICT version

2 2 7, an Open Source satellite tracking / orbital prediction applic-

ation for Linux and Unix computing environments, including PCs, laptops,

and Raspberry PIs

New in this release is a version of PREDICT that operates on Android

platforms under a Termux environment Now you can carry your smartphone

in your shirt pocket while voice announcements made by PREDICT's

"vocalizer" tell you where to locate the ISS, Hubble, or other visible

satellites in the night sky! There's even an alarm to alert the observer

when the spacecraft enters into eclipse or into sunlight

Android screenshots are available here:

    https://www
qsl
net/kd2bd/SingleTrack-Android
jpg

    https://www
qsl
net/kd2bd/MultiTracking-Android
jpg

The Linux/Unix version of PREDICT-2 2 7 is available here:

    https://www
qsl
net/kd2bd/predict-2
2
7
tar
gz

And the Android/Termux release is available here:

    https://www
qsl
net/kd2bd/predict-2
2
7-termux
tar
gz

Both versions are source code releases An included "configure" script

will configure and compile PREDICT and its associated utilities for your

specific platform while you wait

Termux is an Android terminal emulator and Linux environment application

that is available at no cost through Google Play Further details are

available at:

    https://termux
com/

Further details on PREDICT are available at:

     https://www
qsl
net/kd2bd/predict
html

Stay safe, stay well, and Happy Tracking!

73 de John, KD2BD

[ANS thanks John Magliacane, KD2BD for the above information]

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Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?

        Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff

                from our Zazzle store!

    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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ARISS NEWS (awaiting update from AJ9N)

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

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-10-14 18:00 UTC

Quick list of scheduled contacts and events:

Ramona Lutheran School, Ramona, CA, direct via N6ROR

The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS

The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145 800 MHz

The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR

Contact was successful: Wed 2020-10-14 16:26:13 UTC

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 cancellations

or postponements of school contacts As always, I will try to provide

everyone with near-real-time updates

The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to

COVID-19:

Postponed: No new schools

Cancelled: No new schools

The ARISS webpage is at https://www ariss org/

Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements here also

Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site

The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at

https://www ariss org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact html

ARISS Contact Applications (United States)

Note, all times are approximate It is recommended that you do your own

orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed

time

All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date

and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS

[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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Upcoming Satellite Operations

Quick Hits:

Jerome, F4DXV, is plans to operate from a 1500 meter summit in JN15jo on

Monday, 19October He will be on RS-44 beginning at 2000utc specifically

for North America The footprint covers much of eastern NA This is a

difficult operation after dark and Jerome hopes that many will take

advantage of the opportunity to work this very rare grid RS-44 will be

around 1430km

DN13/23 and DN22: @KI7UNJ, 10/16 - 10/19: No pass list, just follow

Twitter, BEACON APRS KI7UNJ-9 KI7UNJ-IOS

16th DN13/23 Line

17th DN22

18th DN22

19th DN13/23 Line

KQ2RP is heading to FN44/54 again Will be on FM birds from FN54 with

occasional FN44/54 line FN53 possible Oct 11-16th Logging as KQ2RP/1

EL Grids, @N1PEB 10/10 -10-14: 10/10 EL95 Key Largo, 10/11 EL94 Key

West, 10/12 EL84 Dry Tortuga, 10/13 EL94 Key West, 10/14 TBD

From TI2BSH: October 16, 2020 I will be working in EK71 and will go out

on the satellites:

AO-91 at 04: 22z,05:57z, 16:38z

SO-50 at 04: 48z, 15:16z

If you hear me and want that grid call in international phonetic

            code
 73s

Major Roves:

Doug N6UA and Ron AD0DX are planning to activate DL88 on Sunday Oct 25th

This will be a daytime activation only because the Talley Campground is

currently closed We will be on FM and Linear satellites Thanks to

everyone that donated back in April before the COVID restrictions K5Z

on qrz com has more details including passes:https://www qrz com/db/K5Z

Currently the weather looks good and we will be monitoring the weather

throughout the week If there is a chance of rain in the forecast we

will have to find another date

We are looking forward to giving out this rare grid!

73

Ron AD0DX and Doug N6UA

Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail com

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the

above information]

---

Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

Clint Bradford, K6LCS will give his "Work the FM Voice Satellites With

Minimal Equipment" Zoom presentation on the following dates for:

10/27/2020 - Cherryland ARC / Traverse Bay ARC

Additional presentations are in the planning stage:

TBD - Antelope Valley (CA) ARC and a private presentation for a

Boy Scout troop in Danville, Pennsylvania

Club Groups are asked to update their copies of the Zoom application

prior to the scheduled session by directly downloading it from

https://zoom us/

[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6CLS for the above information]

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Satellite Shorts From All Over

• NASA will provide live coverage of the return to Earth for agency

  astronaut Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR, and two Russian cosmonauts Wednes-

  day, Oct 21, after six months aboard the International Space Sta-

  tion Cassidy, the Expedition 63 commander, and cosmonauts Anatoly

  Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos, will close the hatch to their

  Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft at 20:10 UTC Wednesday Their Soyuz will un-

  dock at 23:32z A parachute-assisted landing is set for 02:55z on

  Oct 22 on the steppe of Kazakhstan Complete coverage of the return

  will be available on NASA TV and the agency's website,

  https://www nasa gov/nasalive

  (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)

• Joe Werth, KE9AJ Tweets about a new distance record set for AO-7 Mode A:

  "Amazing QSO with Olivier, @F5RRO on AO-7 MODE A Breaking a 40 year old

  AMSAT distance record at 6,879 km Olivier used a MA5B Yagi and I used

  my Moxon Thanks Olivier!" The path map may be seen at:

  https://bit ly/2SUSeJM

  (ANS thanks Joe Werth, KE9AJ for passing along the above information)

• GNU Radio Project (@gnuradio) tweeted at 3:52 PM on Tue, Oct 13, 2020:

  Wylie Standage-Beier's @thewyliestcoyot workshop on Writing GNU Radio

  Blocks is up on YouTube! A hands on intro to blocks, flowgraphs, and

  systems from simple Python simulation of a phase shift keyed signal in

  white noise to a functioning communications system Link to Twitter

  Feed and Youtube link: https://t co/XldgMCJeLy

  (ANS thanks JoAnn Maenpaa, K9JKM for relaying the above information

  from Twitter)

• OSIRIS-REx, which launched in 2016 and has been orbiting the asteroid

  Bennu in microgravity since 2018, is going to try its first Touch And

  Go (TAG) maneuver next week This maneuver involves autonomously des-

  cending toward the asteroid with the craft's sample arm extended,

  briefly making contact, using nitrogen gas to blow loose material in-

  to a sample collection head, and returning to orbit The pristine

  sample should arrive back on Earth in September 2023 Visualization

  at https://www youtube com/watch?v=NjlGYHJ2560&feature=youtu be

  (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

• Blue Origin's reusable suborbital New Shepard flew on October 13 for

  the first time since December 2019, completing its 13th flight, and

  seventh reuse for this booster The mission successfully carried sev-

  eral NASA experiments, including a "microgravity LilyPond"--a hydro-

  ponic chamber for growing edible aquatic plants in space--and a sys-

  tem for precise planetary landing that uses both terrain relative

  navigation (for high altitude use, soon to be used for landing by

  Mars 2020) and LiDAR (for final propulsive landing), with a planned

  application to upcoming lunar landing missions

  (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information)

• Tweeted on October 13: Premier signers of Virgin Orbit's payload wall,

  @AMSAT RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E is out of our hands and in the hands of

  @Virgin_Orbit to fly as part of Launcher One's first payload Great fun

  sharing in their new experience and first integration And tours of

  their facilities to boot!

  https://twitter com/n0jy/status/1315878009371422720?s=27

  (ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT VP Engineering, for the above

information)

• Soyuz crew docks with International Space Station: In a mission marking

  the end of an era, NASA astronaut and former virus hunter Kate Rubins,

  using NASA's last currently contracted seat on a Russian Soyuz

  spacecraft, rocketed into orbit Wednesday with two cosmonaut crewmates

  on a record-setting flight to the International Space Station

  Celebrating her 42nd birthday, Rubins' launch came just two weeks

  before 20th anniversary of the arrival of the station's first crew on

  Nov 2, 2000 Since then, the lab complex has been continuously staffed

  by rotating crews, or expeditions, of American, Russian, Japanese,

  European and Canadian fliers along with a handful of space tourists

  Additional information is avalable at: https://bit ly/31brNUw

(ANS thanks Spaceflight Now and CBS News for the above information)

• Oxygen supply fails on Russian segment of ISS, crew not in danger

  (Oct 15, 2020) The oxygen supply system has failed in a module on the

  Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) but the crew

  is in no danger, Russian space agency Roscosmos said Thursday

  The oxygen supply system on the Zvezda module on the orbital lab failed

  late on Wednesday but a second system on the American segment is

  operating normally, a Roscosmos spokesperson told AFP

  "Nothing threatens the security of the crew and the ISS," said the

  spokesperson, adding this repair work to fix the issue would be carried

  out on Thursday

  The issue arose after three new crew -- two Russian cosmonauts and an

  American astronaut -- reached the ISS on Wednesday to bring the number

  of current crew on board to six Additional information

  at:https://bit ly/31aO596

(ANS thanks Spacetravel and AFP for the above information)

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Tips for the New Satellite Operator [Tentative Add-on FOR CONSIDERATION]

This is the first of a what I hope to be a monthly New Satellite Opera-

tors Corner I will offer AMSAT New Operator tips and links to AMSAT

resources for new operators and posts from various interest groups where

useful info is published This weeks tip comes from Rick, WA6NDR via

TH-D74A@groups io I hope you find this as useful as I have

Jack, KD4IZ, Editor, AMSAT News Service

Tip of the month: TH-D74A ISS APRS settings

From: Rick - WA6NDR

"I was able to make an ISS APRS contact today with just the TH-D74A and

an Arrow antenna (details at the end) I started with a video from Don

W6GPS and documented what I ended up doing including minor changes

Change the call sign and email address to yours "Personal preference"

settings are optional The reasoning behind most of the settings is

given in Don's video I am using TH-D74A firmware v1 10 (with v1 11

released 8/26/2020 but not seeming worth the installation time) "

Menu 800 = SD Card, Export, Config Data (FOR LATER IMPORT AND NORMAL

            OPERATION)

Menu 999 = Config, System, Full Reset

[F]DUAL to set A band only

Menu 900 = Config, Display, Backlight Control = On

Menu 404 = GPS, Basic Settings, Battery Saver = Off

Menu 500 = APRS, Basic Settings, My Callsign = WA6NDR-7

Menu 503 = APRS, Basic Settings, Status Text = 1/1, "VIA ISS

WA6NDR@ARRL
NET"

Menu 504 = APRS, Basic Settings, Packet Path = Others1, "ARISS"

Menu 507 = APRS, Basic Settings, DCD Sense = Detect Data

Menu 511 = APRS, Beacon TX Control, Initial Interval = 30 min

Menu 512 = APRS, Beacon TX Control, Decay Algorithm = Off

Menu 513 = APRS, Beacon TX Control, Prop Pathing = Off

Menu 514 = APRS, Beacon TX Control, Speed = Off

Menu 903 = Config, Display, Power-on Message = "WA6NDR ISS"

Menu 904 = Config, Display, Single Band Display = GPS(GS)

Menu 920 = Config, Battery, Battery Saver = Off

Menu 921 = Config, Battery, Auto Power Off = Off

Menu 950 = Config, Date & Time, Setting = , UTC -7:00

VFO, set frequency to 145 825 MHz

[F]APRS (see "APRS 12" on the top display, GPS info on bottom)

Personal preference, for SD Card recording and save to PC

o Menu 941 = Config, Auxiliary, PF2 = Recording (on/off)

o Menu 944 = Config, Auxiliary, PF3 (Mic) = Screen Capture

o Menu 980 = Config, Interface, USB Function = Mass Storage

Menu 800 = SD Card, Export, Config Data (FOR ISS OPERATION)

Operation

o Arrow 146/437-10WBP antenna: Use only the 2m 3-element part

o Open squelch: [F]MONI, KNOB CCW, ENT Listen, watch

o BCON to send a beacon BCON again (off) Repeat

(ANS thanks Rick Nungester, WA6NDR for this information)

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/EX

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, Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ

kd4iz at amsat dot org

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