[amsat-bb] Re: [Tracking] PhoneSat launch April 17th! 437.425MHz

[Samudra Haque N3RDX & S21X]

An updated website with telemetry info is now available. Please note the
launch date/time may change. I hope others will consider taking up the
challenge to track 3 satellites operating on the same frequency and flying
extremely close to each other.

http://www.phonesat.org/packets.php

73 de NRDX


On Thu, Apr 11, 2013 at 12:04 AM, Samudra Haque N3RDX & S21X <
n3...@amsat.org> wrote:

> I am forwarding a request from NASA ARC Phonesat project, relevant to my
> mail earlier yesterday. This is a 3-for-1 special for amsat community.
>
> 73 de N3RDX
>
> -- Forwarded message --
> From: Wolfe, Jasper Lewis. (ARC-RD)[Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies Inc.
> (SGT Inc.)] 
> Date: Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 3:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [Tracking] PhoneSat launch April 17th! 437.425MHz
> Cc: "Guillen Salas, Alberto (ARC-SST)[Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies Inc.
> (SGT Inc.)]" , "Tintore Gazulla, Oriol
> (ARC-TH)[Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies Inc. (SGT Inc.)]" <
> oriol.tintoregazu...@nasa.gov>
>
>
> Hello CubeSats and Amateur Radio Operators!
>
> The very first PhoneSat’s will be launching aboard the Antares  on April 17
> th at 1700 EDT (launch window to April 19th possibly further). We have
> manifested 2x PhoneSat 1.0 and 1x PhoneSat 2.0 Beta.
>
> ** **
>
> Our orbit is very low (270km x 300km 51.6deg) and we’ll only be up there
> for 2 weeks! So we’re looking for as many people as possible to help with
> tracking our satellites!
>
> ** **
>
> If any of you are interested in tracking the satellite please let myself
> (+the cc’d team) know – your help will be greatly appreciated! 
>
> ** **
>
> All three satellites will be transmitting on *437.425MHz* and TLE’s +
> more info can be found at www.phonesat.org – consolidated info sheet
> attached.
>
> ** **
>
> Feel free to tune-in and submit packets to www.phonesat.org 
>
> ** **
>
> Cheers!
>
> PhoneSat Project
>
> NASA ARC
>
> ** **
>
> This time attached :D
>
> ___
> Earthstation mailing list
> earthstat...@cubesat.org
> http://lists.cubesat.org/mailman/listinfo/earthstation
>
>
>
___
Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

[amsat-bb] Fwd: [Tracking] PhoneSat launch April 17th! 437.425MHz

[Samudra Haque N3RDX & S21X]

I am forwarding a request from NASA ARC Phonesat project, relevant to my
mail earlier yesterday. This is a 3-for-1 special for amsat community.

73 de N3RDX

-- Forwarded message --
From: Wolfe, Jasper Lewis. (ARC-RD)[Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies Inc.
(SGT Inc.)] 
Date: Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 3:05 PM
Subject: Re: [Tracking] PhoneSat launch April 17th! 437.425MHz
Cc: "Guillen Salas, Alberto (ARC-SST)[Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies Inc.
(SGT Inc.)]" , "Tintore Gazulla, Oriol
(ARC-TH)[Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies Inc. (SGT Inc.)]" <
oriol.tintoregazu...@nasa.gov>


Hello CubeSats and Amateur Radio Operators!

The very first PhoneSat’s will be launching aboard the Antares  on April 17
th at 1700 EDT (launch window to April 19th possibly further). We have
manifested 2x PhoneSat 1.0 and 1x PhoneSat 2.0 Beta.

** **

Our orbit is very low (270km x 300km 51.6deg) and we’ll only be up there
for 2 weeks! So we’re looking for as many people as possible to help with
tracking our satellites!

** **

If any of you are interested in tracking the satellite please let myself
(+the cc’d team) know – your help will be greatly appreciated! 

** **

All three satellites will be transmitting on *437.425MHz* and TLE’s + more
info can be found at www.phonesat.org – consolidated info sheet attached.***
*

** **

Feel free to tune-in and submit packets to www.phonesat.org 

** **

Cheers!

PhoneSat Project

NASA ARC

** **

This time attached :D

___
Earthstation mailing list
earthstat...@cubesat.org
http://lists.cubesat.org/mailman/listinfo/earthstation
___
Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

[amsat-bb] Researching about PEHUENSAT-1 / OSCAR-63 / PO-63

[Samudra Haque N3RDX & S21X]

Hi, for academic interest (project history/space systems engineering
topics) I'd like to correspond with anyone involved with Argentina's
pehuensat-1 project.

http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/satInfo.php?satID=118&retURL=satellites/frequencies.php

73 de Samudra, N3RDX / S21X
Alexandria, VA, USA
___
Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

[amsat-bb] Fwd: AMSAT, ITAR, More AMSAT-NA Volunteers & Such . . .

[Samudra Haque N3RDX & S21X]

Resent from AMSAT address to AMSAT-BB list.. sorry if this is a duplicate
posting. Could someone confirm directly if I posted twice? 73 de N3RDX

-- Forwarded message --
From: Samudra Haque
Date: Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 1:50 PM
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT, ITAR, More AMSAT-NA Volunteers & Such . . .
To: "Alex, N3SQ" 
Cc: amsat-bb@amsat.org


Alex et. al, I would like to add in a comment that according to the latest
SBIR release from DoD (many organizations), ITAR compliant persons who are
not US Citizens can also be included in DoD funded commercial research
projects, as long as they are correctly registered and supervised under the
ITAR regulations. This means that if a student from a US university who is
NOT a US Citizen, but rather a US LPR green card holder or beneficiary of a
protected class of visitor able to be employed, can potentially:

* work as a student intern in a commercial company
* work in projects that require ITAR clearance subject to supervision
* work alongside with other US Citizens.

This is pretty good opportunity for all in my opinion. I am sure this would
be the same case for STTR opportunities as well. Some of these projects can
involve aerospace projects, or materials/processes useful for future
aerospace projects.

I quote from the SBIR preface at :
http://www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/sbir/solicitations/sbir101/index.htm
*
Export Control.*  The International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22
CFR Parts 120 through 130, and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR),
15 CFR Parts 730 through 799, will apply to all projects with military or
dual-use applications that develop beyond fundamental research, which is
basic and applied research ordinarily published and shared broadly within
the scientific community.  More information is available at *
http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/regulations_laws/itar.html*.
NOTE:  Export control compliance statements found in the individual
component proposal instructions are not meant to be all inclusive.  They do
not remove any liability from the submitter to comply with applicable ITAR
or EAR export control restrictions or from informing the Government of any
potential export restriction as fundamental research and development efforts
proceed.

Sample text from an SBIR:

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International
Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of
defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed
use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would
accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of
the solicitation


I would hope AMSAT-NA would consider teaming with universities to apply for
research grants like these.


-samudra N3RDX



On Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 12:35 PM, Alex, N3SQ  wrote:

> Ladies & Gentlemen,
>
> Here's the main thing to think about ITAR. ITAR regulates OUTFLOW of
> information, it doesn't care about INFLOW of information. If you build
> or design it by a non-US Person (Citizen or Legal Permanent Resident)
> and you bring it INTO the US, ITAR does not care. So AMSAT-NA can use
> designs from P3E, but cannot design parts of P3E.
>
> So the logical thing to do is have all "major" future AMSAT spacecraft
> be AMSAT-NA managed spacecraft with design elements (camera systems,
> experiments, etc.) contributed by other AMSAT organizations. The only
> main technical interaction between the AMSATs would be via a standard,
> open-sourced, well-published-in-technical-journals interface
> specification. Money could be contributed from other AMSATs to fund
> launch & development costs.
>
> As for the mantra of "no one being able to develop the equipment in the
> US" . . . The volunteer base is not capped, just expand the size of the
> volunteer base and organize it better. None of the experienced engineers
> should be directly building hardware, we should all be supervising teams
> of engineering students who actually build the equipment. There are over
> 250 University Engineering programs in the US. Each of those programs
> have at least 50 students in each graduating class. Let's say that we
> can get 15% of the students interested in working on a satellite
> project  (my personal observations  are more like 75% of the students
> are interested).
>
> Let's do the Math:
> Worse Case: 250 Schools x 50 students per graduating class x 15% =  1875
>  POTENTIALLY INTERESTED STUDENTS IN THE US
> Best Case: 250 Schools x 50 students per graduating class x 75% =  9375
> POTENTIALLY INTERESTED STUDENTS IN THE US
> And this is just talking about COLLEGE SENIORS - EE's, ME's, CE's, CS's,
> SE's . . . double the number if you include the Juniors.
>
> Anywhere near this load of students would completely overload the
> current AMSAT-NA volunteer base. But talk about the potentially
> available volunteer base!
>
> With Binghamton University, I had 7

[amsat-bb] Re: Satellites need to be open source

[Samudra Haque N3RDX & S21X]

resend due to origin address snafu

On Sat, Nov 14, 2009 at 10:42 AM, Samudra Haque wrote:

> Actually, in the eyes of ITAR administrators, I am sure the act of a
> "foreign national" asking publicly for ""sensitive"" technology matters such
> as the details of construction for satellites could raise more than a few
> eyebrows.
>
> If an individual wishes to come to the US and obtain publicly available
> journals/research papers that is sold by an institution such as AIAA, IEEE
> which contains basic discoveries and CANNOT results that can be utilized
> directly in building satellites, ITAR actually allows that. For information,
> read the ITAR links I have posted earlier. However, for questions that
> specifically target "How do you"... the individual may want to be careful as
> not to get to become an interesting target of inquiry by a variety of
> agencies looking for moles.
>
> An example from another industry: If you go to visit UK as a US national,
> all is fine, no visa required. However if you are a foreign national living
> in the US, you have to go through a biometric investigation and a complete
> biography review (dad/mom/children/job) before a visa is issued and the data
> is kept for *10 years* and shared with other governments, regardless of the
> type of visit or duration (1 day to many days). I shudder to think if an
> international person were to be identified in a public way of being
> inquisitive and interested to obtain ITAR classified documents, and boasting
> about it publicly on an open website - what would happen if they were the
> target of U.S. Gov't action ?
>
>
> http://mae.pennnet.com/display_article/366108/32/ARTCL/none/EXCON/1/ITAR-compliance:-ignorance-of-defense-export-regulations-is-no-excuse/
>
> Luc, specifically, your questions may be answered by Page 17 onwards of the
> following presentation:
>
> http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=8&ved=0CCAQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rensselaer.org%2Fdept%2Ffinance%2Fdocs%2Fresearch%2FExportControls.ppt&ei=As7-Sru0M4nVlQe7leXeDA&usg=AFQjCNFBnvL3w7kFLP9yEdVeYU72Qxh7Vg&sig2=xd-u2jP9cmuJy_1a4j-8WQ
>
> However, if you insist that you want to know something now that is still in
> the laboratory R&D process and not yet published that is not going to help
> in the setup of an ITAR compliance system at AMSAT and I would like to ask
> you not to pursue that track. You can always subscribe to academic journals
> (AIAA, IEEE) to obtain the results of published, and ITAR cleared,
> research). AMSAT journals are only collated, and are not referred rigorously
> ! Hopefully they will change to a more peer reviewed model in the future.
>
>
> Samudra N3RDX
>
> On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 1:04 PM, John B. Stephensen wrote:
>
>> Since you are in Canada you don't have to worry about U.S. laws.
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> John
>> KD6OZH
>> over
>>
>
___
Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

[amsat-bb] Re: GWSS Small Satellites Panel: Updated Flyer

[Samudra Haque N3RDX & S21X]

Reminder: Event is at 7:30 p.m. today, Thursday!

73, N3RDX

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 1:48 PM, Samudra Haque N3RDX & S21X  wrote:

> Attention all DC/MD/VA/DE Amsat members:
>
> Our own, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO and Chief Engineer, Exploration Systems
> Mission Directorate will be speaking at an event hosted by George Washington
> Space Society at the Elliot School of International Affairs on Thursday,
> November 12 at 1930 ET. See attached flyer!
>
>
> If you are going, hope to see you there..
>
> 73 Samudra, N3RDX
>
> RSVP or inquiries:
>>
>> Kirk Woellert, Research Assistant
>> Space Policy Institute
>> The George Washington University
>> 1957 E St., NW  Suite 403
>> Washington, D.C 20052
>>
>> email: kdwo...@comcast.net
>>
>> (703) 732-5339 (cel)
>>
>
>
>
___
Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

[amsat-bb] GWSS Small Satellites Panel: Updated Flyer

[Samudra Haque N3RDX & S21X]

Attention all DC/MD/VA/DE Amsat members:

Our own, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO and Chief Engineer, Exploration Systems Mission
Directorate will be speaking at an event hosted by George Washington Space
Society at the Elliot School of International Affairs on Thursday, November
12 at 1930 ET. See attached flyer!


If you are going, hope to see you there..

73 Samudra, N3RDX

RSVP or inquiries:
>
> Kirk Woellert, Research Assistant
> Space Policy Institute
> The George Washington University
> 1957 E St., NW  Suite 403
> Washington, D.C 20052
>
> email: kdwo...@comcast.net
>
> (703) 732-5339 (cel)
>
___
Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

[amsat-bb] Re: SatMag - Thoughts On Satellite Filings

[Samudra Haque N3RDX & S21X]

Ok, I should have looked for IARU links a lot earlier. Even in S21 we had a
lot of help, interaction for amateur radio service by the IARU, and without
them the Bangladesh Amateur Radio League (any amsat folks also BARL members,
I am also S21X) could not have opened up the ham radio license process.

73 de  N3RDX

On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 12:28 PM, W4ART Arthur Feller wrote:

> Hi, Samudra,
>
> AMSAT doesn't have the status to file anything with the ITU as that job is
> only for administrations, that is, the part of a national government with
> the task of meeting the country's obligations in telecommunication.
>
> For more information, suggest reading the articles available at:
> http://www.iaru.org/satellite.
>
> Let me know if you've got questions.
>
> 73, art.
> W4ART  Arlington VA
>
> On 9-Nov-2009, at 11:14 AM, Samudra Haque N3RDX & S21X wrote:
>
> That was an interesting article. Are there any archives of previous filings
> by AMSAT groups for their space missions as it pertains to ITU at all ? If
> not directly to ITU, what organization does AMSAT-NA file with to get
> frequency allotment and orbit allocation ?
>
> Samudra, N3RDX
>
> On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 10:28 AM, Trevor .  wrote:
>
> The November issue of the free SatMagazine has an article titled 'Thoughts
>
> On Satellite Filings' written by the husband of US astronaut Nicole Stott,
>
> KE5GJN.
>
>
> Chris Stott is CEO of ManSat LLC and the Isle of Man’s Honorary
>
> Representative to the Space Industry.
>
>
> SatMagazine also has an article on on Space Security which touches on ITAR.
>
> It can be downloaded from
>
>
> http://www.satmagazine.com/2009/SatMag_Nov09.pdf
>
>
> 73 Trevor M5AKA
>
> Daily Amateur Radio Email/RSS News: http://www.southgatearc.org/
>
> 
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ___
>
> Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
>
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
>
> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>
>
> ___
> Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>
>
>   *What we** **can** **do is to live out our lives as best we can with
> purpose, and with love, and with joy.  We can use each day to show those who
> are closest to us how much we care about them, and treat others with the
> kindness and respect that we wish for ourselves.  We can learn from our
> mistakes and grow from our failures. ** **And we can strive at all costs
> to make a better world, so that someday, if we are blessed with the chance
> to look back on our time here, we know that we spent it well; that we made a
> difference; that our fleeting presence had a lasting impact on the lives of
> others.*
> *** **  - Barak
> Obama, 29 Aug 2009*
>
>
___
Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

[amsat-bb] Re: SatMag - Thoughts On Satellite Filings

[Samudra Haque N3RDX & S21X]

That was an interesting article. Are there any archives of previous filings
by AMSAT groups for their space missions as it pertains to ITU at all ? If
not directly to ITU, what organization does AMSAT-NA file with to get
frequency allotment and orbit allocation ?

Samudra, N3RDX

On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 10:28 AM, Trevor .  wrote:

> The November issue of the free SatMagazine has an article titled 'Thoughts
> On Satellite Filings' written by the husband of US astronaut Nicole Stott,
> KE5GJN.
>
> Chris Stott is CEO of ManSat LLC and the Isle of Man’s Honorary
> Representative to the Space Industry.
>
> SatMagazine also has an article on on Space Security which touches on ITAR.
> It can be downloaded from
>
> http://www.satmagazine.com/2009/SatMag_Nov09.pdf
>
> 73 Trevor M5AKA
> Daily Amateur Radio Email/RSS News: http://www.southgatearc.org/
> 
>
>
>
>
>
> ___
> Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>
___
Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

[amsat-bb] Re: Let's Go!

[Samudra Haque N3RDX]

$100 now and $100 later is a nice idea. But to a project manager that
might mean "there is no guarantee that 2nd $100 will be available".
But it is a good start..

Should we expect a note from our AMSAT-NA treasurer with a "call for
donations" and a public website to monitor donations from members by
region and other statistics ? Those metrics will be desirable for
motivation to "pay up" and get recognition in the process. How has it
worked in the past ?

-samudra, N3RDX


On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 7:45 AM, Jeff Davis  wrote:
> On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 3:42 PM, Samudra Haque  
> wrote:
>>
>> if a gross estimate of $200,000 is needed for a stand-alone cubesat
>> the average per capita support required from these active amsat-na
>> members would be: $200,000 divided by (50% of 3800)  = $200,000 / 1900
>> = $263 or so.
>
> Or perhaps a bit more realistically ... we need 1000 people to donate
> $100 this year, and $100 next year.
>
> Far and away the best bargain to come out of *any* AMSAT organization
> in the 21st century!
>
> 73 de Jeff, KE9V
>

___
Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

[amsat-bb] Reminder of historical amsat-na archives available on KA9Q's website

[Samudra Haque N3RDX]

Hello all AMSAT-NA members, I had some curiosity in learning about
early AMSAT-NA projects and the people behind the early AMSAT
satellites that were built, launched, failed etc. I contacted Martha,
and she quickly pointed me in the direction of KA9Q's vast archive in
PDF format: http://www.ka9q.net/newsletters.html; Perhaps some of the
archives will be soon offered to collectors / researchers on a CD-ROM
to help AMSAT earn revenue from its publication archives !

Of particular historical note: Volume I, Number 1, with a note from
the "President's Desk" by Perry Kline, AMSAT-NA's Founder-President,
who was a great help to me at the symposium just completed and also
the very first Editorial by S.H. Durrani, reprinted through the magic
of Adobe PDF OCR below. I think newbie's (like me) exploring Amateur
Satellite as a hobby should be guided by their respective "elmer" to
read some of these early documents as they come up to speed on the
various fun stuff to do, and to gain an understanding of the past work
done by individuals they meet at conferences, events in this field !

[Following material (c) June 1969, The Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation, extracted from
http://www.ka9q.net/AMSAT-Newsletter-June1969Brev.pdf] - reproduced
for education purposes only!

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
The Australis-OSCAR A satellite, which was delivered to AMSAT
on April 14, is currently undergoing a series of tests by AMSAT
members at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Jan King, K8VTR, who
has been designated AMSAT's Australis-OSCAR A Project Manager, has
been doing a superb job of coordinating all activities involving the
satellite hardware, including the test program.

Australis-OSCAR A is an Australian-built satellite containing
two and ten-meter beacon transmitters. While the previous four OSCAR
satellites were launched by the Air Force, AMSAT has been discussing
with NASA the possibility of placing Australis-OSCAR A in the second
stage of a two-stage Thor-Delta vehicle along with another satellite.
Details on the design and operation of the satellite are described in
the July and August 1969 issues of QST. Be listening to W1AW for late
bulletins as the launch date approaches, and in the meantime, be sure
you have your equipment ready for receiving the satellite's beacons
on 144.050 and 29.450 MHz. At least 10 dB of antenna gain is
recommended to receive the 2-meter transmissions, but a dipole should
be sufficient for 10 meters.

Response to the introductory AMSAT article in the June 1969
QST has been very good and AMSAT membership has already passed the
one-hundred mark.

We are pleased to announce the receipt of a $150 donation from
Project OSCAR to assist with the expenses of Australis OSCAR A. We
are also pleased to announce the election of Captain Charles Dorian,
W3JPT, to the Office of Secretary by the AMSAT Board of Directors on
June 19. Chuck will replace Jim Puglise, W3CBJ, who in preparing to
leave the Washington area feels he does not have the time to handle
the responsibility competently. We wish to thank Jim for his
significant contributions to AMSAT from its inception in January.

One of AMSAT's more recent members, Reginald Atkins (C/O NASA
Tracking Station, Dan Dan, Guam 96910, USA), is interested in seeing a
synchronous satellite repeater constructed for the 1296 MHz amateur band
and has offered to assist with the project. Anyone interested in
undertaking this project, please contact us.

Perry Klein K3JTE

Editorial

INTRODUCING THE NEWSLETTER

With this, the first issue of the AMSAT Newsletter, we
are embarking on a new project to keep the membership informed
of what is going on in AMSAT. Actually, this is not quite the
first issue, because an embryonic newsletter was issued in May
by Geørge Kinal, our Engineering Vice President, in the form of
a one-page progress report. In it he described the current
AMSAT efforts to prepare the ham satellite Australis-Oscar A
for launch, and AMSAT's decision to participate in Project
"Moonray," which aims at placing a ham relay package on the
moon.

These are exciting activities — Oscar and Moonray
and amateur space communications in general — and AMSAT
is deeply interested in them. As our membership expands
and our involvement in various projects grows, so does
the need for a newsletter increase.

The main objectives of the Newsletter are to document
AMSAT activities and to report the progress on current
projects. In addition, the Newsletter will carry special
articles deemed to be of interest to the members. In the
beginning, these articles will be mainly concerned with
Australis-OSCAR, (which is our most important activity at
present) or with providing information to new members for
their orientation. Later issues will cover a wider field—as
wide as the members wish it to be and make it to be.

Did you wonder "why a newsletter?" Well, now you
know! And if you wondered what AMSAT is all about, and who
is responsible for what, we have the answers in this issue

[amsat-bb] Re: FM satellite operations again again over Europe

[Samudra Haque N3RDX]

I asked as I am still puzzled why in the US on local FM nets hams just
use "n,3,r,d,x" instead of "november three romeo david x-ray".



On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 4:59 PM, Tony Langdon  wrote:
> At 07:30 AM 10/14/2009, Samudra Haque wrote:
>>
>> on a satellite QSO, is it traditional to say "A, B, C" instead of
>> "Alfa Bravo Charlie" for brevity when referring to call signs and grid
>> locators ?
>
> That can backfire and waste time, due to people not understanding the
> letters.  For example, my callsign under adverse conditions could be mis
> heard as (heard most of the following on terrestrial repeaters or
> IRLP/Echolink, let alone on the birds!):
>
> VK3JEB
> VK3JD
> VK3JB
> VK3JEV
> VK3JV
>
> And the list goes on ;)  The overhead in asking for clarification or
> getting a correction outweighs the overhead of using phonetics in most
> cases.  Once callsigns are confirmed, you can drop the phonetics (though
> usually by then, the QSO is over, so someone else can have a go ;) ).
>  Phonetics are also more likely to survive brief bursts of QRM or brief
> fades.
>
> 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL
> http://vkradio.com
>
>

___
Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

[amsat-bb] WTB: EZ-Lindenblad antenna

[Samudra Haque N3RDX]

Hello is there a commercial source of EZ-Lindenblad antennas for
mounting on a convention A-frame rooftop ? I have read AAT2X's paper
describing how to homebrew, but want to look at buying a pre-built
version to get started quickly with no need to rotate/elevate on the
RX side.

Regards,

Samudra, N3RDX
___
Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

[amsat-bb] Amsat conference follow-up regarding Cubesats, Education and Experimental projects and ITU

[Samudra Haque N3RDX]

Hi all amsat-bb participants,

there were a number of good concepts that were floated at the 2009
AMSAT-NA Space Symposium and I highlighted the potential of using
AMSAT knowledgebase and experienced hobbyists to create relevant
course content for inclusion in a K-12 STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math) syllabus for various standards of learning. One
of the nearest examples I can give of such a similar program is the
aviation-technology centric STARBASE program which is a civilian
operated program affiliated and funded by the DoD,
http://www.dodstarbase.com/ and of those programs, I highlighted work
of a single one at the conference, http://www.starbasebeaufort.com

If you were at the conference and had any questions about my
presentation, please let me know by e-mail. For others, you may wish
to purchase the proceedings of the conference from Martha/Amsat at
your convenience as this years proceedings is very well organized.

I was interested to know a little bit about the history of
development/spread of use and launch technology available for the
P-POD and Cubesat technology as discussed in
http://thespacereview.com/article/1490/1. Morehead State University
had a very interesting presentation given by Undergraduate students
about their  Space Science program http://www.moreheadstate.edu/ssc/.

This lead me to think about what the cubesat platform is good for and
perhaps I could begin developing a cubesat proposal "with features" in
my future research plans.

But first a few questions:

Does cubesat employ all open standards, free for use, free of any
copyright -or- patents ?

Are there any alternative choices in the US ? I have heard at the
conference, a few years ago AMSAT-NA was initially against cubesats,
but now it is an accepted concept. Could someone provide a short
history of the discussion of that period ?

What types of missions have been completed using P-POD and Cubesat
type spacecraft at the current time ?

Is there an example of a cubesat with any kind of propulsion system
built in and put into service ? Any future candidates ?

What are the lifetime design goals of a cubesat system, and if they
deorbit in a finite time, can more than a few cubesats be deployed in
various stages in the same orbital plane and orbital track ?

BTW, I am curious, is there a certain orbital plane allocation for
cubesats/altitude ? Who regulates this ? Could a cubesat (small) be
launched into (e.g.) a fractional degree orbit .. e.g., 45.5 degrees
and separate from 45.7 degrees etc as they are very small, or are the
cubesats limited to separation in orbit by whole integer degrees
inclination ?

Also, with regard to the following ITU definition, can any one help me
locate an current  list of cubesats and their mission objectives if
published on a public website ? If there is no such list readily
available, what would be the best possible method to catalog the
cubesat launches in order to determine compliance with these two
clauses ? I am looking for more comprehensive information other than
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/cubesats.php


From: http://life.itu.int/radioclub/rr/art01.htm#Serv

1.56 amateur service: A radiocommunication service for the purpose
of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations
carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly authorized persons
interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without
pecuniary interest.

1.57 amateur-satellite service: A radiocommunication service using
space stations on earth satellites for the same purposes as those of
the amateur service.



Regards from a radio amateur sat newbie,


Samudra, N3RDX
n3...@amsat.org
___
Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb