AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-264
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT North America, 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:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
In this edition:
* Deadline Extension for AMSAT Symposium Papers
* AMSAT Space Symposium in Baltimore Gearing Up with Exciting New Speakers
* Results of 2014 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Election
* Contract to Build Es’hailSat Includes AMSAT-DL Phase 4 Transponders
* SpinSat Launching on Falcon 9
* ESTCube-1 Solar Sail Experiment
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-264.01
ANS-264 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 264.01
From AMSAT HQ Kensington, MD.
September 21, 2014
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-264.01
Deadline Extension for AMSAT Symposium Papers
The submission deadline for papers to be included in the conference
proceedings
has been extended to September 30. We welcome papers and presentations
on any
subject of interest to the amateur satellite community. Please send
proposals to
Dan Schultz,
Details for submission may be found at http://www.amsat.org/?page_id68.
[ANS thanks Dan, N8FGV, for the above information]
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AMSAT Space Symposium in Baltimore Gearing Up with Exciting New Speakers
Plans for the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium in Baltimore Oct 10-12 are in high
gear, with the announcement of exciting speakers, space auction plans
and papers
and presentation submittals underway. This year’s space symposium will, in
part, celebrate AMSAT’s 45th anniversary.
There is still time to register, so please go to www.amsat.org and sign up.
Highlights of this year’s symposium include:
Keynote Speaker: Jan King, W3GEY, founding member of AMSAT and former
member of
the Board of Directors & V.P. of Engineering
The AMSAT Space Symposium’s Keynote Speaker with be Jan King, W3GEY,
founding
member of AMSAT and former member of the Board of Directors & V.P. of
Engineering. Jan’s keynote speech, entitled “Never, Never, Never Give
Up!” will
be presented during the Symposium banquet on Saturday October 11. As a
teaser
for his speech, Jan shared the following with our symposium team:
" So very much has changed in 45 years! For starters, our hobby of 1968 has
become an industry for one. Launch vehicles can't be had for the price of a
NASA Administrator’s letter anymore. Launch costs are $100K per kilogram
now.
ITAR? Not worth discussing. So, what do we do? Is it time to say, "We had a
really good run at this" and let it go? We showed some people who cared and
wanted to listen that you can do a lot with a little. Should we call it
quits
and give it up? There are those who ask me questions that start with,
"Back in
your day….?" It is particularly those people, I'd like to show…that we
really
are made of the right stuff. We still have things we know that Government
Experts and wide-eyed university graduate students don't. Silicon Valley is
now filled with satellite experts who aren't. The average university
graduating
electrical engineer still can't make a 2 meter pre-amp with a 1 dB noise
figure
- and wouldn't know how to start. Unless, of course, they figured it out
from
the Internet. Ah yes, the Internet! Another small change since 1968. We'll
talk about it in October. Hope to see you in Baltimore. W3GEY."
Special Guest Presentation: Tuskegee Airman Col. Charles E. McGee
The AMSAT symposium committee has confirmed that one of the original
Tuskegee
Airman, Col. Charles E. McGee, will be attending our conference on Friday
October 10th. Col. McGee will give a special presentation at our
symposium on
his experiences as a Tuskegee Airman and as an Army Air Corps and Air Force
Pilot. A short question and answer period will follow.
Born on December 7, 1919, McGee rose to the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy
Scouts and, shortly after WWII broke out, joined the Army. He became a
pilot in
what was dubbed the Tuskegee Experiment, the first squadron of African
American
pilots, also known as the “Red Tails” from their red markings on the
tails of
their aircraft. Col McGee and his Tuskegee colleagues fought two
wars—World War
II and the war on segregation. This required them to develop an
unprecedented
level of discipline, excellence and fortitude to achieve success.
In World War II McGee flew numerous aircraft, including the famous P-51
Mustang
as part of the 332 Fighter Group, one of three groups designated as the “
Red
Tails.” He provided fighter escort for the B-24 Liberator and B-17 Flying
Fortress bombers over Germany, Austrian and the Balkans. He holds a US Air
Force record of 409 fighter combat missions flown in World War II, Korea and
Vietnam. Col. McGee received numerous awards for his service, including the
Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, and Air
Medal
with 25 oak leaf clusters, amongst others. In 2007 Col McGee and the
surviving
Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President
George W.
Bush.
Col. McGee’s presentations are an inspiration to all. He demonstrates,
through
his life lessons, the need to persevere despite all obstacles and to do your
best in all endeavors. Do not miss out on this opportunity to meet this
remarkable living legend.
Friday Night Reception and Space Auction
This year’s reception, to be held from 7-9 pm on Friday October 10, will
include
a space auction. All proceeds from the auction will support AMSAT’s two
major
initiatives—the development and launch of the FOX satellite series and
the ARISS
program. We have received some very exciting items for the auction. And
we are
asking for your help in donating specialty items for auction (minimum value
$100) that will attract symposium attendee’s attention and get them
bidding up
the item price. If you have any items that are ham related (no boat anchors
please), items of historical value, space related and/or autographed
items we
would love to get your donations. Think out of the box on this—what excit
ing
things would you like to see in this auction? If you have something to
donate
to the Symposium auction, please send an e-mail to Frank Bauer, KA3HDO,
who will
work with you on getting your item or items into the auction. Frank’s e-m
ail
address is ka3hdo at verizon.net
Sunday Tours
Symposium participants can choose one of the following informal tours:
Baltimore Inner Harbor Tour (including the Aquarium), the B&O Railroad
Museum,
Edgar Allen Poe House or the National Electronics Museum. The National
Electronics Museum is opening its doors exclusively for AMSAT on Sunday
from 1-
3 pm. If you are interested in this tour, please contact Dan Schultz by
e-mail
) so we can get a headcount.
Monday Udvar Hazy National Air and Space Museum Tour
There is still room on the bus for the tour of the Udvar Hazy center
planned for
Monday October 13. Go to the AMSAT web site for tour details and signup.
Sunday ARISS Operations Team Meeting
Anyone interested in volunteering to support the ARISS program is invited to
attend the ARISS Operations team meeting from 9-noon Sunday October 12.
We will
have a number of the ARISS-US team leaders and mentors on-hand to
discuss the
program and get you involved. We will also be discussing improvements,
changes
and strategies to enhance ARISS operations.
ANS thanks the Symposium Committee for the above information]
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Results of 2014 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Election
As a result of the 2014 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Election the following
members were elected to serve for two years: Tom Clark, K3IO; JoAnne
Maenpaa,
K9JKM; and Lou McFadin, W5DID. Jerry Buxton, N0JY will serve the
remaining year
of SK Tony Monteiro, AA2TX’s term. The First Alternate is Drew Glasbrenne
r,
KO4MA, and the Second Alternate is Frank Griffin, K4FEG. The results of the
voting with 635 ballots cast are as follows:
Tom Clark, K3IO 457
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM 439
Lou McFadin, W5DID 421
Jerry Buxton, N0JY 268
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA 261
Frank Griffin, K4FEG 232
Steve Coy, K8UD 178
Bryan Klofas, KF6ZEO 132
[ANS thanks Martha for the above information]
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Contract to Build Es’hailSat Includes AMSAT-DL Phase 4 Transponders
Gunter Krebs reports on his Space Pages on the web that Es'hailSat has
signed a contract with MELCO to build the Es'hail-2 geostationary comsat.
Es'hail 2 is a planned communication satellite operated by Es’hailSat, the
Qatar Satellite Company. It will also feature an radio amateur payload.
The new satellite will be positioned at the 26° East hotspot position for
TV
broadcasting and significantly adds to the company’s ability to provide h
igh
quality, premium DTH television content across the Middle East and North
Africa. It will feature Ku-band and Ka-band transponders to provide TV
distribution and government services to strategic stakeholders and
commercial customers who value broadcasting and communications independence,
interference resilience, quality of service and wide geographical coverage.
Es’hail 2 is expected to be launched at the end of 2016.
In September 2014, a contract with MELCO was signed to build the satellite
based on the DS-2000 bus.
Es'hail 2 will also provide the first Amateur Radio geostationary
communication capability linking Brazil and India. It will carry two "Phase
4" Amateur Radio transponders. The payload will consist of a 250 kHz linear
transponder intended for conventional analogue operations in addition to
another transponder which will have an 8 MHz bandwidth. The latter
transponder is intended for experimental digital modulation schemes and DVB
amateur television. The uplinks will be in the 2.400-2.450 GHz and the
downlinks in the 10.450-10.500 GHz amateur satellite service allocations.
Both transponders will have broad beam antennas to provide full coverage
over about third of the earth’s surface. The Qatar Amateur Radio Society
and
Qatar Satellite Company are cooperating on the amateur radio project.
AMSAT-DL is providing technical support to the project.
This story is posted at:
http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/eshail-2.htm
[ANS thanks Gunter's Space Pages for the above information]
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SpinSat Launched on Falcon 9
On Sunday, September 21 at 0552:03 UTC SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from
Florida
carrying the satellite SpinSat with its amateur radio payload to the
International Space Station (ISS).
On arrival at the ISS it will be put into storage until deployment,
later in the
Fall, from the airlock of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM).
Developed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) SpinSat is a 56 cm sphere
weighing 57 kg that has 12 Electronically-controlled Solid Propellant (ESP)
thrusters spread in pairs throughout the surface of the satellite. They
will be
fired in pairs to spin the spacecraft. With just primary batteries and
only 4.8
grams of fuel this phase may last between three to six months.
The spacecraft will be used to calibrate the space surveillance network.
Lasers
will be fired at SpinSat from the ground, the light reflected back will be
measured to determine where in time and space the satellite is passing
overhead.
SpinSat will also model the density of the atmosphere.
SpinSat carries a 2 watt RF output 9600 bps AX.25 packet radio store and
forward
system on 437.230 MHz.
Additional details about SpinSat are available at the following websites
http://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/news-r...-mission-nrl-w
ill-
spin-small-satellite-in-space-with-new-thruster-technology
NASA – SpinSat
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/st...ents/1019.html
[ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA, for the above information]
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ESTCube-1 Solar Sail Experiment
After more than a year of preparations on Tuesday, September 16, 2014,
the team
started to deploy the electric solar sail tether on-board ESTCube-1.
The process of burning the tether end-mass and spool locks and reeling
out the
first few centimeters of tether will start during the 09.06 – 09.19Z
pass over
Estonia. This is a high pass and should be visible over most of the Europe.
During the locks release process and after reeling the tether out some
centimeters, images will be taken.
If everything is OK with the tether, additional unreeling will take place in
coming days.
If you are interested in receiving ESTCube-1 during those exciting
passes, the
UZ7HO 9600 bps packet softmodem and an Online Telemetry Decoder by Mike
Rupprecht DK3WN can be used. But basically any 9600 bps G3RUH TNC or
decoder can
be used to receive ESTCube-1.
ESTCube-1 Online Telemetry Decoder by Mike Rupprecht DK3WN
http://www.dk3wn.info/files/estcube_online.zip
We are looking forward to receiving your reports on the address es5e AT
estcube
DOT eu, and we would really appreciate if you would also send received
data in
live, using Mike’s decoder.
You can also connect with ESTCube-1 time via Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/estcube
[ANS thanks Tõnis, ES5TF, 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 addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
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 stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS
ku4os at amsat dot org
_______________________________________________
Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans