Date: January 25th 2010

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-024

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: * Phase-3E News From AMSAT-DL General Meeting * Request for submision of articles for the SVHFS Conference * Happy Birthday * Satellite Shorts From All Over * ARISS Status - 18 January 2010

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024 01 Phase-3E News From AMSAT-DL General Meeting

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 024 01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD January 24, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-024 01

Phase-3E News From AMSAT-DL General Meeting(1st English Translation)

Peter, DB2OS, informed the extraordinary general meeting at 10 October 2009 about Phase-3E The mechanics of the satellite are ready Also many modules are mostly still at the developers

Following the extraordinary general meeting there were celebrat- ing a major milestone in the project Mario, DL5MLO, showed the data transfer between a in Germany produced engineering model of the IHU-3 and a notebook with 400 bps PSK

OM Dr Karl Meinzer takes immediately some IPS commands to the onboard computer enjoying to see the correct answer in the display of the laptop This is the core of the data communications for P3E control and monitoring in flight

So far there is only a prototype at basic layout of the last stand Due to various changes in the schematic and no longer available or improved components all layouts will be revised or newly created

The construction of the IHU-3, CAN-DO! Bus and the SDX at AMSAT-DL, Phase-3E is now "ITAR-free", ie free of export restrictions in the U S These modules were developed also as an aid by members of AMSAT-NA

Launch costs

A satellite launch with the Ariane will cost about 3 million Euros An alternative to Ariane and Soyuz could be the new agency SpaceX It was talked about the possibilities for an inexpensive launch for P3E with one of the Falcon 9 rockets At present, the prices for a regular Falcon-9 are outside the financial resources of AMSAT-DL During the interview, there were signs however, a vague possibility of how to reduce costs AMSAT-DL will continue to remain in contact with SpaceX

The financing of launch costs would be done by the Mars P5A mission For the feasibility of P5A with costs of 10 million Euros for each start and developing it was agreed with DLR the creation of a study The planned realization of the P5A Mission to Mars was between 2016 to 2018

Alternative P5-Moon mission

Hartmut, DL1YDD, said that talks in September 2009 with the DLR at tech- nical level took place A lunar mission as an intermediate step to a Mars mission would be equipped with a probe in a 100-km orbit around the Moon and possible in 2014

The satellite design for the P5-Moon mission is, as the P5-Mars mission, based on the P3D structure of AO-40 Further details will follow after completion of the currently for six months pending DLR/AMSAT-DL-study in spring 2010

See also: http://www amsat-dl org http://www p3e-satellite org/ http://www dlr de http://www spacex com/

[ANS thanks to Thomas Frey, HB9SKA, and the SouthGate Amateur Radio News for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024 02 Request for submision of articles for the SVHFS Conference

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 024 02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD January 24, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-024 02

Friends, It would be very helpful if you're planning to present and/or submit a paper for the 2010 SVHFS Conference to let us know The deadline for submissions is February 5th, so time is ticking but not out The conference planners are busy making preparations So far we have open slots for the presentations on both Friday and Saturday Requests for presentation slots are being taken now, please let us hear from you

Call for Papers 14th Annual Southeastern VHF Society Conference April 23rd and 24th, 2010 Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky

The Southeastern VHF Society is calling for the submission of papers and presentations for the upcoming 14th Annual Southeastern VHF Society Conference to be held at Morehead State Univeristy in Morehead, KY on April 23rd and 24th, 2010 Papers and presentations are solicited on both the technical and operational aspects of VHF, UHF and Microwave weak signal amateur radio Some suggested areas of interest are:

Transmitters Receivers Transverters RF Power Amplifiers RF Low Noise Pre Amplifiers Antennas Construction Projects Test Equipment And Station Accessories Station Design And Construction Contesting Roving DXpeditions EME Propagation (Sporadic E, Meteor Scatter, Troposphere Ducting, etc ) Digital Modes (WSJT, etc ) Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Software Defined Radio (SDR) Amateur Satellites Amateur Television

In general papers and presentations on non weak signal related topics such as FM repeaters and packet will not be accepted but exceptions may be made if the topic is related to weak signal For example, a paper or presentation on the use of APRS to track rovers during contests would be considered

The deadline for the submission of papers and presentations is February 5, 2010 All submissions for the proceedings should be in Microsoft Word ( doc) Submissions for presentation at the conference should be in PowerPoint ( ppt) format, and delivered on either a USB memory stick or CDROM or posted for download on a web site of your choice

Pages are 8 and 1/2 by 11 inches with a 1 inch margin on the bottom and Ã‚Â¾ inch margin on the other three sides All text, drawings, photos, etc should be black and white only (no color)

Please indicate when you submit your paper or presentation if you plan to attend the conference and present there or if you are submitting just for publication Papers and presentations will be published in bound proceedings by the ARRL Send all questions, comments and submissions to the program chair, Robin Midgett K4IDC via K4IDC at comcast dot net

For further information about the conference please go to http://www svhfs orgwww svhfs org

Thank you, Robin Midgett K4IDC 2010 Program Chair, SVHFS

[ANS thanks Robin, K4IDC for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024 03 Happy Birthday

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 024 03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD January 24, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-024 03

Happy Birthday! Guess who turned 20 years old on January 22nd?

AO-16, DO-17, WO-18, and LO-19 !! :)

To honor the great work of AMSAT volunteers that created, built, and launched the original "fleet of four" microsats exactly 20 years old, we will be attempting to operate AO-16 in its special "voice mode" on select passes during the period January 21-24 Operations will be limited to stations that share the footprint with the command station N8MH (grid FM05pj)

Mode FM Voice Repeater (Downlink is DSB Operation is Intermittent) Uplink: 145 9200 MHz FM Downlink 437 0260 MHz USB and LSB

Please understand that because of the current orbit and a thermal issue in the spacecraft, the satellite turns itself OFF via a reset rather unpredictably--sometimes only moments after being turned ON So operations may be limited to very short periods of times (barely enough for quick exchange) During some passes it might not work at all but I'm willing to give it a shot

Watch for AO-16 to be turned ON for operations during the following dates and times, posted below in UTC:

WinAos QTH: -78 7/35 4

Day       Object      AOS (U) LOS

21 01 2010 AO-16 19:02 19:16

22 01 2010 AO-16 08:56 09:10 <- (yes, that's 4am Eastern time ;)

22 01 2010 AO-16 20:10 20:25

23 01 2010 AO-16 08:25 08:40

23 01 2010 AO-16 19:39 19:54

24 01 2010 AO-16 19:09 19:23

24 01 2010 AO-16 20:49 21:02

Let's hope at least a few of you can make a contact! If nothing else, you can listen to the familiar "hmmmmm" of 1200BPSK and reminisce

73,

Mark L Hammond [N8MH] AO-16 Command Station

[ANS thanks Mark, N8MH For the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024 04 Satellite Shorts

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 024 04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD January 24, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-024 04

SSTL founder and Surrey Space Centre director Sir Martin Sweeting has received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Elektra Electronics Industry Awards 2009

Full story here: http://www satnews com/cgi-bin/story cgi?number=1747025893

[ANS thanks Nigel, W8IFF, for the above information]

/EX

It is with great sadness that we report that our friend and longtime colleague, Dave Ingram, K4TWJ, became a Silent Key this morning (Jan 20), as a result of complications from a massive heart attack he suffered on New Year's Eve

Dave has been writing for CQ at least since 1981 and has been a CQ columnist since 1982, starting with an amateur television column called World of Video That column eventually broadened its outlook and became World of Ideas, Dave's signature monthly column in CQ Regular topics included code keys, stealth antennas, building "new vintage" tube gear and mobiling In addition, for the past decade, Dave has been CQ's QRP (low power) Editor and "How it Works" columnist His enthusiasm for whatever caught his interest was contagious and spread widely through his informal yet educational writing style

Funeral arrangements are not complete as of this writing We will post additional information on the CQ website news page when it becomes available Condolence cards may be sent to Dave's wife, Sandy, WB4OEE, at their Callbook address

73, Rich W2VU

[ANS Thanks Rich, W2VU, For the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024 05 ARISS Report

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 024 05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD January 18, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-024 05

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report January 18, 2010

Upcoming School Contacts

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was scheduled for Minato Junior High School in Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan on Friday, January 22 at 09:24 UTC Students are learning about the goals of the ISS as well as radio communications and are studying for their amateur radio licenses

Morioka ChildrenÃ‚Â’s Museum of Science in Morioka, Iwate, Japan has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP on Thursday, January 28 at 06:53 UTC The youth are currently learning about the ISS, satellite orbits and amateur radio The contact is expected to be conducted in Japanese

Commander Jeffrey Williams and Taiwanese Youth Speak via ARISS Contact

On Monday, January 11, Expedition 22 Commander Jeffrey Williams, KD5TVQ participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with students attending Humanity Primary and Junior High School (HPJHS), the first charter school in Taiwan Joining in the contact were students from the Technology and Science Institute of Northern TaiwanÃ‚Â’s Department of Computer and Communication Engineering Six hundred guests attended the event, which was sponsored by the Chinese Taipei Amateur Radio League (CTARL), and listened as Williams answered 15 questions about life in space Media coverage included six television stations and five newspapers

Cosmonauts Participate in Two ARISS Contacts with Kursk University

On Saturday, January 16, cosmonauts Maksim Suraev and Oleg Kotov both participated in two Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) sessions with students and faculty of the Kursk State Technical University The sessions were held on successive ISS passes

Astronaut Training Status

JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, KE5DAW received Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) basic operations training as well as an ARISS program overview on January 13 Furukawa is training as an Expedition 28 crew member which is planned to launch in May 2011

Two Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) simulated contacts are planned with astronauts Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC and Shannon Walker, KD5DXB on Thursday, January 21 Wheelock and Walker will answer questions posed by students at the Manhattan Challenger Learning Center, New York, New York and the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska, Kenai, Alaska, respectively Both astronauts are slated to fly with Expedition 24 in May 2010

ARISS Audio in Podcast

On the NASA Do-It-Yourself Podcast Web site is an item about using Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts to record unique audio for use in a student built podcast The blog provides additional information via links to the Teaching From Space ARISS Web page as well as the DIY Podcast Homepage See: http://blogs nasa gov/cm/blog/diyPodcastBlog

ARRL Articles on Record Number of ARISS Contacts

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a Web story on the record number of Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts held during 2009 ARISS delegate Rosalie White noted in the article that by yearÃ‚Â’s end, there was an increased interest in ARISS among U S schools as indicated by educatorsÃ‚Â’ queries and the increase in U S ARISS applications submitted To view the article, go to: http://www arrl org/news/stories/2010/01/12/11285/?nc=1

The story also ran in the ARRL Letter See: http://www arrl org/arrlletter/index html?issue=2010-01-14#toc04

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

/EX

73, This week's ANS Editor, Dee Interdonato, NB2F nb2f at amsat dot org

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

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