The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information 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 communicating 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: [email protected]
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/post
In this edition:
- AMSAT 2021 Symposium and Annual Meeting Changes to Virtual Event
- Second Call for Papers for the 39th AMSAT Space Symposium Proceedings
- UVSQ-SAT FM Repeater to be Turned On September 12, 2021
- AMSAT President’s Club Closing in on 2021 Goal
- Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity
- AREx and the NASA Lunar Gateway Update
- ARISS News
- Upcoming Satellite Operations
- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
- Satellite Shorts From All Over
ANS-255 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE, Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002
DATE 2021 Sep 12
AMSAT 2021 Symposium and Annual Meeting Changes to Virtual Event
Due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, AMSAT has announced that its 39th Space Symposium scheduled for October 29-31, 2021 will now take place as a virtual event. The Symposium was originally planned to be held at the Crowne Plaza AiRE hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota.
AMSAT President, Robert Bankston, KE4AL, explained, “Our membership has voiced its concern over the continued presence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the risks associated with long distance travel and attendance at large group gatherings. In the interest of everyone’s comfort and safety, we have made the difficult decision to return to a virtual meeting platform. If there is any good news in this, we know that last year’s virtual Symposium event was well received and that we have the opportunity to repeat its success this year.”
The dates for the virtual symposium will remain the same as was originally announced. The schedule will be reviewed by Symposium organizers and adjusted as needed to accommodate the virtual setting. Persons who have already registered for the Symposium will automatically receive refunds in the days ahead.
Please watch for further announcements as they become available. Questions regarding the Symposium should be addressed to info at amsat dot com.
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]
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Join the 2021 President’s Club!
Score your 2″ 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin.
This gold finished coin comes with
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered “Remove Before Flight” Key Tag
Donate today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-th
You won’t want to miss it!
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Second Call for Papers for the 39th AMSAT Space Symposium Proceedings
This is the second call for papers for the 39th AMSAT Space Symposium to be held on the weekend of October 29-31, 2021. The Symposium will be a virtual event.
Proposals for symposium presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with final copy submitted by October 18 for inclusion in the symposium proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV at n8fgv at amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Dan Schultz, N8FGV, for the above information]
UVSQ-SAT FM Repeater to be Turned On September 12, 2021
The LATMOS team has programmed the UVSQ-SAT satellite to go into transponder mode on Sunday, September 12, 2021 starting at 12:00 UTC. The transponder will be active during 11 consecutive hours.
From September 11, 2021, 12:00 UTC, an ASCII message will be broadcast to announce that the transponder mode will be activated. To decode the message, you can use the UVSQ-SAT Decoder software available at: https://code.electrolab.fr/xto
The frequencies used are:
Telemetry:
437.020 MHz – BPSK – G3RUH 9k6
FM Transponder:
Uplink frequency: 145.905 MHz
Downlink frequency: 437.020 MHz
More information on the satellite is available at https://site.amsat-f.org/uvsq-
[ANS thanks Christophe Mercier, Président AMSAT-Francophone 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-cat
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AMSAT President’s Club Closing in on 2021 Goal
While the AMSAT President’s Club had been around for many years, it was reinvigorated and re-launched at the 2020 AMSAT Symposium and general meeting. With a fresh look and attractive recognition items, the goal of $18,000 was set for the year of 2021. Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, Vice President, Development reports, “We are closing in on reaching our 2021 goal with $15,140 already donated by President Club members. With three months to go in this year, I’m confident we’ll hit the $18,000 mark and then some.
“In addition to direct President’s Club registrations, we automatically enroll anyone who makes a donation of $120 or more to the general fund. This represents yet another $16,015 of generous giving by AMSAT members.”
Karnauskas adds, “Although there are three months left in the year, we have only a very limited supply of commemorative coins and, once they’re gone, they’re gone. These polished gold finish coins with four color accent colors have become quite a hit among members. We would hate to see someone not get one these collector items because they waited too long.”
Full details on the President’s Club and registration page are located at:
https://www.amsat.org/join-the
[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between July 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan.
The new proposal window is October 1, 2021 to November 24, 2021. The deadline to submit a proposal is November 24, 2021.
Proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and the proposal form can be found at:
https://ariss-usa.org/hosting-
An ARISS introductory webinar session will be held on October 7, 2021 at 8 PM ET. The Eventbrite link to sign up is:
https://ariss-proposal-webinar
Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session.
An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact.
Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations’ volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio.
Please direct any questions to ariss dot us dot education at gmail dot com.
[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]
AREx and the NASA Lunar Gateway Update
Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS-USA Executive Director, provides the following update on AREx plans to participate in NASA’s Lunar Gateway system.
“Originally planned to be launched separately, the Power Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) will now be launched together on a commercial launch vehicle as the first Lunar Gateway systems. As a result, the launch mass is high and the resulting payload mass to be flown on this inaugural mission is very low.
“The current complement of scientific payloads flying with PPE and HALO are the space weather, radiation and lunar dust experiments. For astronaut health reasons, the radiation and space weather measurements are critically important to understand the environment that astronauts will be subjected to. The lunar dust experiment is critical since these dust particles are highly corrosive and can impact Gateway machinery as well as spacesuits and the astronauts themselves. Beyond these three experiments, no other payloads have been manifested yet.
“NASA and the other space agencies continue to refine their plans for Gateway, Artemis and other lunar missions. It should be noted that the space agencies are still designing Gateway so they are defining payload opportunities on a vehicle that is still being designed. This is kind of like driving a car on a bridge as it is being built!
“Right now AREx is working to ensure that we are located on Gateway with a good field of view to the Earth. This will ensure more frequent AREx communications opportunities with folks on the ground. Some of the modules to be launched later than PPE and HALO appear to provide much richer Earth communication fields of view. We anticipate getting a better understanding of Earth viewing for the payload “ports” (or SORIs) on each module in the future. The current payloads need sun viewing so NASA is trying to determine which payload “port” would be best for them.
“AREx is engaged. But, like ARISS and Space Station 25 years ago, Gateway payload manifesting will be a “fits and starts” opportunity. Therefore, patience and persistence are critically important traits the ARISS/AREx team uses as it moves forward. As the co-leader of the AREx team, I remain cautiously optimistic that we will be on-board Gateway in the future. And, I am maintaining patience.”
[ANS thanks Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS-USA Executive Director for the above information.]
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AMSAT’s GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar
panels, propulsion, and attitude control, now manifested for launch on
NASA’s ELaNa 46 mission. Come along for the ride. The journey will be
worth it!
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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.
The following schools have now been postponed due to COVID-19:
Notre Dame Jogakuin Junior and Senior High School, Kyoto, Japan
Direct via 8N3ND
Originally scheduled for Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 09:26:41 UTC.
Next mode change is expected to take place in late September 2021. The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-
The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors 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
+ EN76: September 12, 2021, 1800-2000 UTC
EN85/EN86 gridline: September 12, 2021, 2000-2200 UTC
EN75/EN76 gridline: September 12, 2021, 2200-0000 UTC
AA8CH reports on his upcoming rove: Times tentative and I may go to the EN85/EN86 gridline a little earlier depending. On Monday, September 13 I may do EN75/EN76 or EN85/EN86 again if there is need but would prefer to hit EN84/EN85 and EN74/EN75 so get in the log on Sunday if you really need the others. Will try to list probable passes here. Send me an email if you need any of the above and I’ll be sure to listen for you on the birds!
+ EN75: September 13-15, 2021
N8AJM is planning to make as many FM satellite passes Holiday style. He may also be in EN76 for a couple hours on September 14. POTA is also a possibility. Watch Twitter for updates.
+ FN26: September 16-18, 2021
VE3KY will be returning for a three day holiday style operation and will operate both linear and FM birds, hopefully trying to update operating times and passes on twitter @busman49.
+ CN70 & CN71: September 16, 2021
CN80 & CN81: September 17, 2021
CN90 & CN91: September 18, 2021
DN00 & DN01: September 19, 2021
DN10 & DN11: September 20, 2021
DN20 & DN21: September 21, 2021
DN02 & DN03: September 22, 2021
DN12 & DN13: September 23, 2021
WL7T is on the road again! Watch Twitter for updates at https://twitter.com/WL7T_
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information]
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
+ RRRA Hamfest & ARRL Dakota Division Convention
Saturday, September 25, 2021
RRV Fairgrounds Hartl AG Building
1805 Main Ave West
West Fargo, ND 58078
https://rrra.org/cal/2021/09/2
+ 2021 Wyoming ARRL Section Convention
Saturday, October 9, 2021
Event Center at Archer
3921 Archer Pkwy
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82007
https://wyhamcon.org/site
+ 39th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
October 29-31, 2021
Online
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above information]
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ AmazonSmile reports that a $384.06 donation was issued to AMSAT thanks to shopping activities of AMSAT members between April 1 and June 30, 2021. Thank you shoppers!
[ANS thanks AmazonSmile for the above information.]
+ On September 2, 2021, Open Research Institute (ORI) received an advisory opinion from US Commerce Department BIS. The letter confirmed that posting information on the internet so that it is available to the public means that open source amateur satellite communications work is not subject to the Export Administration Regulation (EAR). Prior work by ORI established that open source amateur satellite communications work was free of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
[ANS thanks ORI for the above information.]
+ Cosmonauts found “superficial fissures” in the aging Zarya module of the International Space Station, and worry that they will expand over time. Vladimir Solovyov, a Russian space program chief engineer, also pointed out that “at least 80 percent of in-flight systems on the Russian segment of the ISS have passed their expiration date.”
[ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information.]
+ Charlie, EI8JB, will be active as EJ8JB from Bere Island which is located off the coast of West Cork between September 16-19th. He states, “Amateurs have authorization from our regulator to use the ‘EJ’ prefix once operating from one of the offshore Coastal Islands of Ireland.” Activity will be on various HF bands using CW, SSB and some Digital modes (PSK/RTTY) as well as possibly FM Satellite. QSL via LoTW (Preferred), and by the Bureau and ClubLog’s OQRS.
[ANS thanks the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin for the above information.)
+ At the AMSAT-DL General Meeting on August 28, 2021 in Bochum, the members elected the new Board of Directors for the next regular term of 2 years. Peter Gülzow DB2OS was again appointed in his function as 1st Chairman unanimously re-elected. Likewise, Thilo Elsner DJ5YM has now been appointed to the position of 2nd Chairman unanimously re-elected. Dr. Charly Eichhorn DK3ZL completes the executive committee as new 3rd Chairman and Treasurer, he too was unanimously elected.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.]
Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:
* Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
* 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 student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
* Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.
Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
This week’s ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
n1uw at amsat dot org