AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-228
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
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* 2009 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting October 9-11 *
* Four Points Sheraton Hotel at the Baltimore Washington Airport *
* Details -
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2009/index.php *
**********************************************************************
In this edition:
* Final Call For Papers AMSAT 2009 Space Symposium
* New Satellite Location Maps Available
* AO-51 Mode Change This Weekend
* South Africa's SumbandilaSat Launch Scheduled For September 15
* AMSAT Awards
* SimSat-4 Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballon Flight Announcement
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* Invitation to Join Nova East Star Party ARISS Video Link
* Mars Orbit Getting Busier
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.01
Final Call For Papers AMSAT 2009 Space Symposium
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 16, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-228.01
Symposium Proceedings Editor Daniel Schultz, N8GFV this week
issued the final call for papers for the 2009 AMSAT Annual
Meeting and Space Symposium to be held October 9 - 11 at
the Four Points Sheraton Hotel at the Baltimore Washington
Airport.
Proposals for papers, symposium presentations and poster pre-
sentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur
satellite community. Since the subject of launch opportunities
is driving most of what AMSAT can do in the near future, papers
on possible cooperative projects with other space organizations
would also be relevant. You might also consider doing a tutorial
session on some technical subject that you are an expert on for
the education of the rest of us.
Daniel requests a tentative title of your presentation as soon
as possible, with final copy submitted by September 1, 2009 for
inclusion in the printed proceedings. Abstracts and papers should
be sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV, at n8fgv@amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Daniel Schultz, N8FGV for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.02
New Satellite Location Maps Available
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 16, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-228.02
A map showing the current satellite location for most of the
amateur satellites are now available on the AMSAT web site.
From the AMSAT front page, use the left hand side navigation,
go to the 'Satellite Information' navigation box, then select
'Satellite Status'. You may also go directly there using this
URL:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/status.phpNext click on an underlined satellite name in the left hand
column. This will display a satellite summary, scroll to the
bottom of the page and there will be a map showing the current
location of that satellite and the illuminated and dark portions
of the earth.
This feature can be used for a quick check of the satellite's
location or to verify that your tracking program was setup cor-
rectly. Thanks to Rick, W2GPS and Chip, N2YO for providing this
useful feature.
[ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.03
AO-51 Mode Change This Weekend
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 16, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-228.03
On Sunday night Eastern Daylight Time (UTC - 4), around 0000Z
Aug 17 UTC AO-51 will switch to V/S FM repeater mode using the
145.880 MHz uplink and 2401.200 MHz downlink.
The AO-51 spin rate has slowed to over 7 minutes per revolution.
Eighteen months ago this was about 2.5 RPM. So, either you should
experience less to no fading during the pass or longer fades depend-
ing upon the satellite's orientation to your QTH. The AO-51 modes
team welcomes your observations, especially those providing actual
measured data.
Ground controllers probably will turn the L-Band digital uplink off,
to get the best power allocation to both transmitters. You will still
be able to receive the telemetry on 435.150 MHz.
[ANS thanks AO-51 Operations Team for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.04
South Africa's SumbandilaSat Launch Scheduled For September 15
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 16, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-228.04
The South African Amateur Radio Satellite Association (SA AMSAT)
reports that South Africa's second Amateur Radio satellite Sum-
bandilaSat is due to launch on September 15
AMSAT-SA reported that the satellite is already in Baikonur for
system integration and from where it will be launched on its journey
around the earth on a Soyuz rocket.
The Amateur Radio payload comprises a V/U FM voice transponder with
an uplink in the 2 meter band and a downlink in the 70cm band. It has
a parrot repeater (voice digipeater) and a voice beacon.
The Amateur Radio Payload will be operating in conjunction with the
University of Stellenbosch Software Defined Receiver project as it
will share the VHF receiver and UHF transmitter used by the SDR pro-
ject.
The SA AMSAT payload has been assigned the callsign ZS0SUM. Control
of the satellite's function from the ground will be accomplished by
transmitting CTCSS tones which will be announced. One tone will
will command the satellite in the transponder mode; another CTCSS
tone will command the satellite into the parrot repeater mode; and
if no tones are received for a period of time the satellite will
activate its voice beacon.
Frequencies of operation for the FM voice Transponder and Parrot are:
Uplink 145.880 MHz
Downlink 435.350 MHz
Additional information can be found at these links.
A paper presented by a Stellenbosch student on the SA satellite:
http://dataweek.co.za/article.aspx?pklArticleId=4118&pklCategoryId=42University of Stellenbosch
http://www.sun.ac.za/University of KwaZulu-Natal
http://www.ukzn.ac.za/SunSpace
http://www.sunspace.co.za/Southern African Amateur Radio Satellite Association (SA AMSAT)
http://www.amsatsa.org.za/[ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA, The SouthGate Web site, and SA-AMSAT for
the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.05
AMSAT Awards
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 16, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-228.05
AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO congrat-
ulates the following Amateur Radio operators who have earned
these awards.
AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement Award:
Rizkallah Azrak OD5RI #503
Dave Glow AA1VX #504
Evangelos Kafetzopoulos SV1EEK #505
The following have earned the AMSAT Sexagesimal Award.
David Bird KC7USS #150
The following have earned the South Africa Communications
Achievement Award.
Evangelos Kafetzopoulos SV1EEK #US137
The following have earned the W4AMI Achievement Award (for 1000 contacts)
Dimtrios Pallis SW1JGW #54
George Carr WA5KBH #55
Evangelos Kafetzopoulos SV1EEK #56
To see all the awards visit
http://www.amsat.org[ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.06
SimSat-4 Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballon Flight Announcement
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.06
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 16, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-228.06
The SimSat-4 high-altitude balloon flight experiment has been
scheduled for Saturday morning, September 19, 2009.
SimSat-4 Principal Investigator, Pat Kilroy, N8PK has posted
the latest information on the web at:
http://simsat.net then
click SimSat-4. Pat invites you to check this link on a regular
basis for updates and late breaking news about SimSat-4.
Pat says he needs more volunteers to help execute a successful
flight. He is looking for:
1. Net Control Station for the (A) HF or (B) VHF net. You are
also invited to create your own net on a repeater more local
to you and your club.
2. Amateur Radio stations to copy and save telemetry during the
mission from the comfort of your own home/shack.
3. Invite a student (young or old) to participate with you. Show
'em how to listen. That's all.
4. Download and install a CW code reader on your PC. Play with
it and let us know how well it works.
5. There are many other fun tasksand you can see the list on
the SimSat-4 announcement page.
http://simsat.net and then
click SimSat-4.
[ANS thanks SimSat-4 Principal Investigator, Pat Kilroy, N8PK for
the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.07
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.07
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 16, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-228.07
+ Congratulations to Patrick, WD9EWK on his Worked All States
award. Patrick completed WAS completely via the FM LEO satellites.
+ Short Notice! Mark WA8SME plans to activate the rare grid DM19
(smack in the middle of Nevada) on August 17 during the 2130Z AO27
pass (approximate). He will operate using an HT and Arrow antenna.
+ Software enhancement allows you to fly through the 10,000 galaxies
of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field image at:
http://tinyurl.com/n3fhjg Try the full screen option in the bottom toolbar for the best
experience. (UniverseToday.com)
+ Congratulations to Doug, KD8CAO and Jim, W8MRR on their successful
Amateur Satellite demonstration via AO-51 on 8/11/09 at the Holland
Area Radio Club in Michigan. Jim said, "Everything went right, the
weather was perfect, the satellite and our equipment performed
flawlessly, and a huge crowd of hams were there for our monthly
meeting." Doug and Jim also included a Power Point presentation.
+ AMSAT-UK's FUNcube satellite project is featured on the front cover
of the August 12-18 edition of Electronics Weekly magazine. You can
read the digital version of Electronics Weekly magazine online in
PDF format at:
http://cde.cerosmedia.com/1D4a803d8814a11352.cde+ Roland PY4ZBZ has posted an audio recording from his AO-7 SSB QSO
with Andre, ZS2BK covering a of distance of 6890 km. The recording
is at:
http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/satelite/ZS2BK_AO7.wav Photos
of his 2 element Yagi on VHF and 6 el on UHF are on-line at:
http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/satelite.htm#owa6+ The next Hudson Valley Satcom Group net is Thursday August 20 at
8PM EDT (UTC-4), on the 146.97 Repeater and Echolink node: N2EYH-L
(via WA2BSS)
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.08
Invitation to Join Nova East Star Party ARISS Video Link
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.08
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 16, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-228.08
On Saturday, August 22, 2009 participants at the Nova East Star
Party (Smileys Provincail Park, Brooklyn, Nova Scotia Canada)
will have the opportunity to speak with Canadian Astronaut and
Expedition 20/21 Flight Engineer Dr. Robert (Bob) Thirsk, VA3CSA,
on board the International Space Station.
With the help of the Province of Nova Scotia's Emergency Management
Office and Bell Aliant a LIVE satellite uplink will be used to pro-
vide a 1 hour webcast of the event.
Starting at shortly after 12:00 UTC the webcast will include amateur
radio and astronomical topics. The webcast will conclude with the
actual contact which begins with AOS at 12:54:08 UTC.
Please join us for this very special educational outreach event at
http://exclusive.bellaliant.net/spacestation. [ANS thanks the ARISS Mentor for Nova East Star Party 2009, Wayne
Harasimovitch, VE1WPH for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-228.09
Mars Orbit Getting Busier
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 228.09
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 16, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-228.09
MarsDaily.com reports that NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is
in safe mode, a precautionary standby status, and in communications
with Earth after unexpectedly switching to its backup computer on
Thursday, August 6.
Engineers are working to determine the cause of the spontaneous swap
from the orbiter's "A" side computer and subsystems to the redundant
"B" side.
They have successfully increased the communication rate from the
orbiter, but some engineering data about what was occurring just
before the side swap may never be available. The team expects it
will be at least several days until normal science operations resume.
After the challenging mission to moon, ISRO has begun preparations
for sending an Indian spacecraft to Mars within the next six years.
Mission studies have been completed and collection of scientific pro-
posals has begun. India is examining launch opportunities between 2013
and 2015.
MarsDaily.com also reported this week that China's first satellite
to probe Mars has been transported to Russia for a launch later this
year.
Yinghuo-1, the 110-kilogramme (242-pound) Chinese satellite, is
scheduled to be launched along with Russia's "Phobos Explorer" aboard
a Zenit rocket in October after final testing, the Beijing News said.
After entering Mars' orbit -- 10 to 11 months later -- the orbiter
will probe the Martian space environment, with a special focus on
what happened to the water that appears to have once been abundant
on the planet's surface.
[ANS thanks MarsDaily.com and SpaceDaily.com 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. And with that
please keep in mind the camel who journeyed a thousand miles across the
desert to reach the oasis palm, and yet he could not get a date.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
