Hello Everyone,
The ANS news bulletins have traditionally been sent out using a packet
header format. In the year now approaching 2012 we're no longer sure how
many VHF-UHF PBBS systems are re-distributing ANS bulletins via RF-based
AX.25. Perhaps the packet header is no longer a requirement for each
individual news item.
ANS plans to continue to distribute the bulletins in our traditional
plain-ascii format so this is not changing. Previous inquiries have
indicated a very strong preference for the plain-ascii format. I'm working
on an html-mail option with photos, links, etc. to be announced within the
next few months.
Below my signature line is a prototype, updated, clean-looking plain-ascii
ANS format I'm testing.
I've preserved the simple e-mail style of plain ascii text, 70 character
lines. I preserved packet compatibility by placing a single packet-header
(i.e.: SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-361.01) at the top of the news and a single /EX
at the end of the entire news. If this still goes out by packet it should
still be able to be processed, received, and read.
The "news content" is just the recent ANS-359 bulletin. I updated the day
number (361) and the date (December 27, 2011) in the packet header to
provide a unique ID in case this somehow ends up going out by packet and
collides with the previously released ANS-359.
Please post comments via amsat-bb on how you think it looks? Is it easier to
read, or no difference? Is there anyone who still needs the full packet
header on every news item?
--
73 de JoAnne K9JKM
k9...@amsat.org
Editor, AMSAT News Service
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE (Testing Prototype Version)
ANS-361
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-edi...@amsat.org
In this edition:
* Help AMSAT to Fly Fox-1: Solar Panel Campaign Begins
* SKN On OSCAR 2012 In Memory Of W1JSM
* FO-29 Satellite Recovery in Progress
* AMSAT-India Announces Linear Transponder
* UK Space Agency Ukube-2 CubeSat Mission Concept Studies
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* ARISS Status - 19 December 2011
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-361.01
ANS-361 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 361.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 27, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-361.01
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Help AMSAT to Fly Fox-1: Solar Panel Campaign Begins
As AMSAT embarks on the Fox-1 Project, here is an opportunity to
literally put your callsign on the Fox hardware. AMSAT is looking
for major donations to help underwrite the cost of solar cells/
panels, one of the more significant expenses of the project. These
solar cells are needed for the flight unit as well as for the a
flight spare. As Fox-1 will have solar cells on all six sides of
the spacecraft and given the relatively small surface area avail-
able on each side (at most 4" by 4" per side), AMSAT will invest in
high efficiency solar cells to gain as much power as possible to
operate the spacecraft.
To protect the installed solar panels prior to launch, a lexan cover
for each side will be fabricated and mounted to protect the cells.
Prior to placement of the flight spacecraft into the 'P-Pod' that
will house the cubesats on the launch vehicle, the lexan covers will
be removed.
"Friends of Fox" are encouraged to consider several levels of fund-
ing support:
1. Donate $1,000 to support purchase of one panel that will cover
one side of the spacecraft.
2. Donate $6,500 to support the purchase of six sets of solar panels
to cover the entire spacecraft.
Donors who contribute at these levels will have their callsign etched
on the lexan cover protecting solar panels of the flight unit and the
flight spare. Following the launch of Fox-1, donors will receive the
lexan solar panel cover with their callsign for 'their' solar panel
mounted on a plaque commemorating their contribution to the Fox-1
project and highlighting the purpose of the lexan cover. A letter of
authenticity will be provided attesting to the use of the lexan cover
to help protect the solar panels.
Other potential donor levels are also available:
1. Donate $500 for one solar cell (two cells make up a 'panel' on
one side of the spacecraft).
2. Donate $250 for one-half of a solar cell (one-quarter of the
solar panel for one side of the spacecraft.
Donors contributing at these levels will receive a letter affirming
their contribution, including specifying which side of the spacecraft
'their' cells are located.
If you're interested in supporting AMSAT's need to purchase solar
cells, please return the Fox-1 fundraisingform sent to members. We
expect significant interest so make your donation NOW to take full
advantage of this donation opportunity.
Additional donation opportunities may be found at:
+ Call Martha at the AMSAT Office +1-888-FB AMSAT (1-888-322-6728)
+ Paypal donation widget on the main page at: http://www.amsat.org
+ Paypal donation widget for Project Fox at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fox/
+ You can also go to the Paypal site and send your donation to
mar...@amsat.org.
+ The AMSAT Store: http://www.amsat-na.com/store/categories.php
All donations over $40 will receive a Fox pin. Donations of $120 or
more qualify you for AMSAT President's Club
[ANS thanks AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW for the above
information]
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SKN On OSCAR 2012 In Memory Of W1JSM
You are cordially invited to participate in Straight Key Night
on OSCAR 2012, conducted by AMSAT for all radio amateurs through-
out the world. This year's event is dedicated to the memory of Don
Brown, W1JSM, who passed away in 2011, aged 90. Don was a longtime,
enthusiastic VHF/UHF and satellite operator, and one of our most
frequent Best Fist winners.
As always, SKN on OSCAR is simple and informal. Just operate CW
through one or more satellites on 1 January 2012 (0000 to 2400
UTC), using a straight hand key.
There is no need to send in a log, but all participants are encour-
aged to nominate someone they worked for Best Fist. Your nominee
need not have the best fist of anyone you heard, only of those you
worked. Send your nomination to w...@amsat.org. A list of those
nominated will appear in ANS in early February.
[ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS for the above information]
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FO-29 Satellite Recovery in Progress
The FO-29 Command Team reports from Japan that they have recovered
the satellite after it had experienced a shutdown due to longer
eclipse periods causing an undervoltage condition.
Ground station operators have placed FO-29 in a temporary, but stable
configuration for further testing and recovery operations. They will
test FO-29 while it is over Japan between December 23-25.
If no problems occur the Command Team will announce an operating
schedule for the satellite for the remainder of 2011 and into the
early part of 2012. Please standby for further news and announce-
ments.
[ANS thanks Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL for the above information]
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AMSAT-India Announces Linear Transponder
AMSAT INDIA had a booth at Hamfest India held on December 10-11. An
estimated 900 amateur radio operators and SWLs attended the event.
A copy of their satellite presentation can be downloaded from:
http://amsatindia.org/presentations/HFI-2011/AI-HFI2011.pdf
AMSAT-India gave several presentations at the event, among them was
one by Ganesan Namachivayam KJ6LRR in which he described a satellite
435/145 MHz linear transponder with a bandwidth of 50 kHz and capable
of 1-3 watts PEP output. AMSAT-India plan to develop a smaller linear
transponder for Cubesats.
Ganesan also described a CubeSat communications system comprising a
435 MHz half-duplex narrow-band FM transceiver supporting a data rate
of 1200-9600 bps. The transmitter produces 1 watt output and can also
operate as a Morse Code beacon.
Other presentations included:
- Real Time Tracking by Mani VU2WMY
- Working with LEO Sats by Dr. Raveendranath VU2RVJ
- Telemetry Decoding by Nitin VU3TYG
[ANS thanks Secretary - AMSAT INDIA Nitin, VU3TYG for the above
information]
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UK Space Agency Ukube-2 CubeSat Mission Concept Studies
With the UK Space Agency Ukube-1 program currently in development
with a planned launch in the second half of 2012 an invitation for
participation in studies for future cubesat missions has been ann-
ounced.
The concept can address a scientific theme or be of an in-orbit tech-
nology demonstration nature (e.g. formation flying), providing a real
impact to the UK. All UK based communities (academic, industrial and
other) are invited to submit proposals. Applications can be made in-
dividually or in partnership with other organisations, however indus-
try and academia will be funded under the rules stipulated in the
scope of funding presented below.
Funding is available up to £35K per proposal; the size of award will
depend on the requirements of the proposed project and the applicants'
case for support. Proposals should not exceed a grant value of £35K.
Funding will be awarded in 2012 and the project cannot exceed 3 months
duration. Due to the short nature of these studies and the amount of
funding available, we intend funding successful applicants at the on-
set of the project. It is anticipated the scheme will fund a minimum
of 7 proposals; the facility to fund more will depend on the size of
awards and will be assessed on a competitive basis as detailed below.
The deadline for submission of proposals is 1st February 2012, 12pm.
Further information can be found by following the links posted on the
AMSAT-UK web: http://tinyurl.com/7glkm3f (www.uk.amsat.org)
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ The 2012 SA AMSAT Space Symposium will be held at the University
of KwaZulu-Natal on 12 May 2012. This is the second call for papers.
Authors are invited to submit a brief synopsis of their proposed
paper. The deadline is 31 January 2012. Send a synopsis as a word
file attachment to saam...@intekom.co.za. The theme of the confer-
ence is "50 Years of Amateur Radio Satellites" celebrating the
launch of OSCAR 1 on 12 December 1961.
SA AMSAT: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/
+ YX6, VENEZUELA. Members of the Radio Club of Venezuela plan to be
active as YX6AJ from Angel Falls waterfall (the world's tallest -
979m) between January 3-6th, 2012. Operators mentioned are Lino/
YY5FRD, Jesus/YY5CHJ, Marcel/YY5CAR, Wilmer/YY5CWM, Alfredo/YV5SSF,
Edwin/YV5HUJ, Jose/YV5JF, William/YV5VE, Angel/YV5NEA and possibly
one more. Activity will be on CW, SSB, Digital modes and the Satel-
lites. QSL via YV5AJ, by the Bureau or direct. They have posted a
promotional video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=57lufNJtftk
(Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1041 for December 19, 2011)
+ The Polish amateur radio satellite PW-SAT built by students at the
Warsaw University of Technology was featured on the Internet TV
channel, BRITE TV. PW-SAT carries a single channel transponder that
will operate in a similar way to the amateur satellite AO-16. The
uplink on 435.020 MHz will be FM and the downlink on 145.900 MHz
will use the BPSK telemetry beacon transmitter to produce Double
Sideband (DSB) that can be received on an SSB radio. Watch at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=74u7Nqxpkk0
+ The Internet Archive and Textfiles has posted every issue of Wayne
Green's 73 Magazine ever published, for free. Read 73 online, or
download PDF files here: http://www.archive.org/details/73-magazine
+ A video of the presentation about Amateur Radio Space Communications
given by Mario Lorenz DL5MLO to hackers at the Chaos Communication
Camp 2011 is now available:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Lh_RvzceJo4
+ AMSAT area coordinator Clint Bradford, K6LCS, will be presenting his
'Working Amateur Satellites With Your HT' session at the Gwinnett
Amateur Radio Society's TechFest 2012 in Lawrenceville, Georgia on
January 14, 2012. ALL are welcome to attend!
Event Web site: http://tinyurl.com/GARS-2012
Clint's four-page tutorial and radio programming data can be found
at: http://www.work-sat.com
+ Bobby, KF4GTA posted photos of his trip to KSC with access to both
Atlantis and Endeavour. The links to his photo pages are:
http://flic.kr/p/aVsWfM and http://flic.kr/s/aHsjxni8cR
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
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ARISS Status - 19 December 2011
1. Kobe, Japan Contact Successful
On Monday, December 12, an Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station (ARISS) contact was held between the Hirano Branch of Kobe
Youth Nurturing Council in Kobe-city, Hyogo-pref, Japan and Astronaut
Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX on the ISS. The contact highlighted lessons cover-
ing the ISS and the environment. An audience of approximately 50 peo-
ple attended the event. Media coverage included two newspapers.
2. New Proposal Cycle for ARISS-US Contacts
NASA Teaching From Space (TFS) office recently announced a new pro-
posal cycle for ARISS-US contacts. The deadline for submitting pro-
posals is January 30, 2012 for contacts to be held in the July 15,
2012 - January 15, 2013 time frame. The next informational session
will be held on Wednesday, January 11 at 2100 UTC to answer any ques-
tions concerning the proposal process. To attend the session or to
have questions answered, contact TFS at jsc-tfs-ar...@mail.nasa.gov
or call 281-244-1919.
For more information, visit the TFS Web site:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/teachingfromspace/students/ariss.h
tml
3. ARISS-U.S. Proposal Process Makes the News
A NASA Express message which included an item on ARISS contact oppor-
tunities for U.S. schools using the proposal process was sent on Dec-
ember 8. The message may be viewed on the NASA blog:
http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/newui/blog/viewpostlist.jsp?blogname=educationexpre
ss
The NASA Educators Online Network (NEON) posted a link to its ARISS
article, "Holiday Ham for NASA." See:
http://nasatalk.com/blog/article/bylines/67-dynae-fullwood/1629-holiday-ham-
for-nasa.html
The Hartford Hobby Radio Examiner published the story, "Schools can apply
for space station radio chats."
http://www.examiner.com/hobby-radio-in-hartford/school-applications-welcome-
for-space-station-contacts
4. ARISS Status on Social Media
This is a reminder that ARISS news is available on Twitter and Face-
book. ARISS has over 200 active users on Facebook and over 800 follow-
ers on Twitter. See:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amateur-Radio-on-the-International-Space-Stati
on-ARISS/153679794647788
and
http://twitter.com/#!/ARISS_status
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above 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 additional benefits. Application forms
are
available from the AMSAT Office.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS
ku4os at amsat dot org
_______________________________________________
Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
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