Date: December 28th 2008

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-363

ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation ANS 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

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:

ans-editor@amsat org

In this edition: * SKN on OSCAR 2009 This Week * AO-51 Schedule to Support SKN and Kids Day * Richard Garriott Interview Available Online * ARISS 25th Commemorative Event to Feature L/V Repeater This Week * ARISS Status - 22 December 2008

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363 01 SKN on OSCAR 2009 This Week

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363 01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363 01

Ray Soifer, W2RS extends the annual cordial invitation to all radio amateurs worldwide to participate in AMSAT's Straight Key Night (SKN) on OSCAR 2009

Participating in SKN on OSCAR 2009 is easy No rules, no scoring and no need to send in a log Just operate CW through any OSCAR between 0000 and 2400 UTC on 1 January 2009, using a straight hand key

In keeping with the friendly nature of this event, all participants are encouraged to nominate someone they worked for "Best Fist " Your nominee need not have the best fist of those you heard, just of those you worked Please send your nomination to w2rs@amsat org A list of those nominated will appear in ANS and The AMSAT Journal CU SKN!

[ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363 02 AO-51 Schedule to Support SKN and Kids Day

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363 02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363 02

AMSAT VP of Operations, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, reminds everyone that AO-51 will be configured to support two upcoming special events For the first time AO-51 will be configured to support CW operations during the annual SKN Event Following SKN the uplink will be reconfigured back to the more traditional FM/FM up and downlinks to support the ARRL's Kids Day event

December 29 - January 2

FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145 920 MHz FM Downlink: 435 300 MHz FM

SSB/FM Repeater, V/U (CW QSOs only on Straight Key Night) Uplink: 145 880 MHz USB Downlink: 435 150 MHz FM

January 3

FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145 920 MHz FM Downlink: 435 300 MHz FM

FM Repeater, V/U (ARRL Kid's Day, QSOs between or with kids ONLY) Uplink: 145 880 MHz FM Downlink: 435 150 MHz FM

[ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363 03 Richard Garriott Interview Available Online

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363 03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363 03

Space traveler Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, ha been interviewed by science fiction writer Tracy Hickman about Garriott's recent visit to the International Space Station During the session, W5KWQ talked about his experience of operating amateur radio on orbit and conversing with the ham community worldwide

The entire interview is 2 hours and 45 minutes in duration Its available in 3 installments You will find it at http://feeds feedburner com/Dragonhearth

[ANS thanks Newsline for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363 04 ARISS 25th Commemorative Event to Feature L/V Repeater This Week

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363 04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363 04

To date, the ISS crew has configured the radio to support cross-band repeater operations, they have supported some SSTV downlinks and we have had the opportunity to participate in a special test of 9600 baud packet radio operations on the simplex frequency of 145 825 MHz

Specifically, December 28-January 3, we plan to reconfigure the Crossband repeater for a special experiment This will be a test of our L-Band uplink capability, which, to date, has not been proven out Plan for an uplink of 1269 65 MHz and and downlink on the standard frequency 145 80 MHz using low power Given the substantial cable losses of the L-band system, we hope some "big guns" are able to penetrate through, keep up with doppler, and make the connection

We will provide more updates in the near future We would like to remind everyone that ISS flight requirements related to EVA and vehicle activity may require the radio to be off for some portion of this schedule And school contacts and general QSO opportunities by the crew will also preempt this schedule for short periods of time (But remember that if you hear these, you still qualify for a commemorative certificate)

Frank concluded, "In the meantime, enjoy the ARISS ops on ISS! And congratulations to Owen Garriott, W5LFL, on the 25th anniversary of his historic flight!!"

[ANS thanks Frank, KA3HDO, AMSAT-NA V P for Human Spaceflight Programs and ARISS International Chairman for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363 05 ARISS Status - 22 December 2008

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363 05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD December 28, 2008 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363 05

Upcoming School Contacts

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled with Technopolis in Mechelen, Belgium on Monday, December 29 at 11:43 UTC via telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii The mission of Technopolis is to bring science and technology to the public The center has permanent and temporary exhibits and organizes workshops, school activities and other outreach activities The ARISS contact will be open to all school children 6 -18 years of age and will be supported through a workshop, lecture or science show

Canadian School Contact Successful

Students from King George Elementary School in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada took part in a question and answer session with Sandra Magnus, KE5FYE The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact took place on Monday, December 15 Ten students were able to ask one question each of the astronaut as an audience of 320 looked on Ray Boughen, Minister of Education Provincial Parliament, Dale McBain, City of Moose Jaw Mayor (both former educators) and Brenda Edwards, Director of Education for Prairie South School Division attended Television stations taped the event and interviewed the children Radio station CHAB interviewed the school coordinator The Moose Jaw Times Herald printed an article covering the contact See: http://www mjtimes sk ca/index cfm?sid=201052&sc=3

The story includes links to the contact video: http://www mjtimes sk ca/index cfm?main=broadcast&bcid=10109

Principal Ward Milligan commented, "It was an awesome 'once in a lifetime experience' that will become more important in the lives of these students as they look back upon this event in years to come Having a personal contact with someone in space increased the students' interest in space by three fold Sandra Magnus was very enthusiastic and answered the students' questions in a manner they could relate to She was very encouraging of the students It was an inspirational and moving experience "

Italian Students Radio ISS

On Thursday, December 18, students from Scuola Elementare Faleriense "Gianni Rodari" in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Italy participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Mike Fincke, KE5AIT as over three hundred students, teachers and parents gathered for the event Twenty-one students questioned the astronaut and Season's Greetings were exchanged RAI3 Regional Television and some local media and newspapers covered the event The audio was fed into the EchoLink servers For more information, including photos and audio, go to: www ariss-eu org/2008_12_18 htm

The Corriere News ran an article (in Italian): http://www corrierenews it/index php/corrierenews3100/content/view/full/22025

ESA mentions the recent Marco Polo, Circolo Didattico San Giuseppe and Gianni Rodari contacts in this story (also in Italian): http://www esa int/esaCP/SEMXK4TTGOF_Italy_2 html

ARISS International Meeting Held

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) team meeting was held on Tuesday, December 16 Agenda items included the next face-to-face meeting, SuitSat-2 development status and the ARISS special event Minutes have been posted to the ARISS Web site See: http://www rac ca/ariss/arisstel2008-12-16 htm

Astronaut Training Status

Astronaut Michael Barratt, KD5MIJ, took a refresher course on the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) equipment and operations on Wednesday, December 17 Barratt is looking forward to supporting the program during his time on board the ISS as an Expedition 19 crew member Expedition 19 is the first half of the planned 6 person crew

ARRL QST Covers ARISS News

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) printed 4 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) news items in its January 2009 issue of QST

Under "Media Hits" (page 12) is a lengthy paragraph about how the media coverage for Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, was very prolific

A story on pages 59-60 is about Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, a student at Georgia Tech who's a ham and was quite interested in ARISS She was friends with a ham teacher at a middle school near her middle school; the teacher had applied for an ARISS contact The story is called "DXpedition to Planet Mars" and is about Andrea's involvement in the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) It says at the end that she wants to be an astronaut

Two columns under "Happenings" (page 63) are titled "Richard Garriott; W5KWQ Back on Terra Firma" which is about Richard and ARISS It carries two pictures - one of the students in Austin who contacted him during his mission in space and the other is a photo of Richard

"Grants Focus on the Future of Amateur Radio" (page 95) covers three groups that won ARRL Foundation grants One grant was given to the Eagle Scouts of Indiana who took part in an ARISS contact at the Space Jamboree 2008 The grant received was used to fund equipment for electronic building projects at the Space Jamboree which helped scouts complete the electronics merit badge The equipment also served other regional and national scout gatherings to introduce amateur radio Another group that received an award was the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum which is scheduled for an ARISS contact on December 27 The money received funded a ham station (and antenna) in the museum lobby

ARRL and AMSAT Articles on ARISS Special Event

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a Web story about the 25th anniversary of ham radio in space It includes the latest news covering the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) special event See: http://www arrl org/news/stories/2008/12/18/10509/?nc=1

The ARRL also issued a W1AW bulletin on the same subject and an article was published in the ARRL Letter See: http://www arrl org/arrlletter/08/1219/

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]

/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 additional benefits Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office

73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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