AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-326
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:
* AO-85 Commissioned, Handed Over To AMSAT-NA Operations
* The Second Birthday of FUNcube-1 (AO-73)
* FM Repeater Test at IO-86 Satellite
* AMSAT-LU announces transponder satellite payload and launch
* Space Brazilian Agency With Amateur radio PY2SDR LABRE/AMSAT-BR
* United Launch Alliance Reveals Transformational CubeSat Launch Program
* Nayif-1 at UAE YouthConnect
* DeorbitSail Update and Initial Camera Image
* SPROUT SSTV and Digitalker active every Sunday
* AMSAT Events
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-326.01
ANS-326 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 326.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE November 22, 2015
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-326.01
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AO-85 Commissioned, Handed Over To AMSAT-NA Operations
AO-85 has been formally commissioned and turned over to AMSAT
Operations, who are now responsible for the scheduling and modes.
The following guidelines are provided for users:
Uplink power should be on the order of minimum 200 W EIRP for full
quieting at lower antenna elevation angles. Your mileage may vary.
With an Arrow, 5 W has been used successfully to make contacts.
Polarity is important. The satellite antennas are linear. So, if you
are using linearly polarized antennas, you will need to adjust
throughout the pass. Full duplex operation facilitates these
adjustments while transmitting and is highly recommended.
The downlink is very strong and should be heard well with almost any
antenna.
Downlink audio is 5 kHz deviation, as expected. Many will perceive
that the audio is "low." This is an effect of the filtering below 300
Hz, which provides for the DUV telemetry, coupled with any noise on
the uplink signal resulting from lack of full quieting or being off
frequency. That makes for less fidelity than a typical receiver in
terms of audio frequencies passed.
Transmit (downlink) frequency varies with temperature. Due to the
wide range of temperatures we are seeing in the eclipse cycle, the
transmitter can be anywhere from around 500 Hz low at 10°C to near 2
kHz low at 40°C.
Receive frequency has been generally agreed to be about 435.170 MHz,
although the AFC makes that hard to pin down and also helps with the
uplinks that are off frequency.
Probably the most notable observations about AO-85 are an apparent
lack of sensitivity and difficulty in turning on the repeater with
the 67 Hz CTCSS when it is not yet activated, or holding it on by the
presence of the CTCSS. We have determined a probable cause for the
sensitivity issue and while that can't be fixed on AO-85 we are
taking steps to prevent similar issues on the rest of the Fox-1
CubeSats. The tone detection threshold along with the receive
sensitivity issue makes it hard to bring up the repeater. This is
being addressed by adjusting the values for a valid tone detection in
the other Fox-1 CubeSats now that we have on orbit information about
temperatures and power budget. Full details will be in the Nov/Dec
AMSAT Journal.
It is important to remember that science is the reason behind the
Fox-1 satellites. Not only does science help with the launch cost, it
provides a great amount of educational value both from the science
payload and in amateur radio itself. The data-under-voice (DUV)
telemetry is an excellent way to provide the science without
sacrificing the use of the satellite for communications, which would
be the case if higher speed downlinks were needed. DUV provides
constant science as long as the repeater is in use, which in turn
provides more downlink data for the science - a mutually beneficial
combination.
Fox-1A is AMSAT-NA's first CubeSat. Many new techniques are
incorporated and lessons will be learned, as with any new "product."
The Fox-1 Project is a series of CubeSats. A total of five will be
built and flown. Launches are scheduled for three more, and a new
NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative proposal will be submitted for the
fifth. We will incorporate changes from what we learn in each launch,
to the extent possible, in subsequent Fox-1 CubeSats.
Of the four NASA sponsored CubeSats on the ELaNa XII launch October
8, we are sad to report that ARC1 was never heard from and BisonSat
was lost after a few weeks of operation. AMSAT extends our deepest
sympathy to the people who worked so hard on these projects. To our
members, we want to say that the Fox Team is very proud and pleased
that our first CubeSat is very successful and hopefully will be for
some time.
[ANS thanks AMSAT's Vice President of Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY
for the above information]
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The Second Birthday of FUNcube-1 (AO-73)
The FUNcube-1 Ops Team reports:
FUNcube-1 was launched into space two years ago on November 21st 2013.
We are delighted to be able to report that more than 900 stations, including
many schools around the world, have received the telemetry from the
spacecraft
since launch. Our Data Warehouse is storing more than 750 MB of data from
almost 1 million data packets. We are very grateful to everyone who has been
contributing to the success of this mission. Please continue to keep the
data
flowing as it will provide a valuable resource for students in the future.
The stats continue – speeding along at around 17,500 mph, FUNcube-1,
which had
a launch mass of just 982 grams, has completed more than 10,500 orbits
of the
earth. This means a total distance travelled of more than 260 million miles.
All telemetry sensors continue to provide valid data, real time, whole orbit
and high resolution channels alike. The flight code is really robust and we
have only had three unexpected “events� since launch. Two of these we
believe
to have been caused by noise of the command receiver being incorrectly
interpreted as a command and only one appears to have been caused by a RAM
error. The battery and solar panels also continue to work perfectly and
provide
a very positive power budget.
We have sent out many Fitter messages for school and other similar events.
Earlier this week there was a demonstration at Thorne Green Top School in
Yorkshire.
Here is a report from Dave EI4HT/M0GIW:
Good Morning All
Firstly -thanks to all for your help, we had a great morning at Green
Top and
the highlight was FUNcube.
I started with a slide show talking about communications from cave
paintings
all the way up to smartphones, we looked at space communications and travel
from Sputnik to Astra and Apollo to the Millennium Falcon! We spoke about
satellites and how they are used every day and how we all got to watch
“I’m A
Celebrity� via Satellite last night from Australia.
I brought in lots of props too, some old Motorola MX330 radios, some PMR
446,
and a marine band radio .I also had a small model of a CubeSat that I
knocked
up over the weekend, I also passed around some NOAA images from last week’s
Abigail storm and I had a few QSL cards from ISS and MIR from years ago
when I
lived in Ireland.
The FUNcube pass was great, really strong signals, I had my turnstile
and FCD
set up and had audio through speakers and used the class projector to show
Satpc32 and the Dashboard.
There was a great buzz of excitement when we got the first packet and even
more when the Fitter messages came through. The kids were fascinated to
see the
signal arrive just as the software predicted and then hear the telemetry and
the decode.
After the pass we were able to look at the Warehouse online and print
off the
QSL card and certificate.
I didn’t get a chance to take many pics but Mrs Overson will update the
School Blog and she took lots of pics.
http://greentopschool.co.uk/blog
Once again thanks to all at FUNcube, looking forward to Tim Peake on the ISS
in the New Year and planning another visit to the School then.
Regards
Dave EI4HT / M0GIW
PS: I was back dropping my own kids off this morning and Mrs Overson told me
they have printed a QSL card and Certificate for each of the students
and they
have used them for their class journals.
As well providing a great educational resource, FUNcube-1 operates at night
and generally at weekends with the linear transponder active for radio
amateurs
to use for communications. The transponder continues to provide an excellent
service. As users will be aware, the transponder uplink frequencies vary
with
receiver temperature. The RX temp telemetry channel is the best one to
use for
tracking this effect. This does make it quite difficult to use full computer
control for transponder operations and we have already developed new
oscillator
circuits to improve this performance for future missions.
For the telemetry uplinked to the Data Warehouse, it is possible to download
special Certificate or QSL Card here
http://amsatuk.me.uk/on/funcube_qsl.php
and, for transponder users, the “73 on 73 award� continues at
http://amsat-uk.org/funcube/73-on-73-award/
The Nayif-1 CubeSat mission, which includes a full FUNcube payload, is
expected to be launched into a similar orbit in the first half of next
year and
will provide an additional level of service to the community.
Meanwhile we hope everyone will continue to have fun with FUNcube-1!
See:
http://funcube.org.uk/2015/11/20/the...-of-funcube-1/
[ANS thanks Graham, G3VZV and the FUNcube-1 Ops Team for the above
information]
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FM Repeater Test at IO-86 Satellite
A confirmation for the upcoming test of the FM Repeater on IO-86 Satellite
(LAPAN-A2/ORARI), has been announced and would be conducted this weekend:
- Saturday, 21 Nov 2015, at 02:30 UTC - 04:50UTC
- Sunday, 22 Nov 2015, at 02:55 – 05:00 UTC
Voice Repeater info:
- Uplink 145.880 Mhz tone 88,5
- Downlink 435.880 Mhz
AMSAT Keplerian data
0 IO-86
1 40931U 15052B 15316.15776324 .00001070 00000-0 60618-4 0 9994
2 40931 6.0030 69.3893 0012877 275.6206 84.2533 14.76374433 6653
As the satellite was designed for emcomm using handheld radio (the
reason of
the relatively high-power downlink), we would like all reports of
portable ops
(handheld radio using some sort of portable directional antenna,
i.e. CJU / IOio / Moxon / Arrow / etc).
Responses via the amsat-bb
[ANS thanks Suryono Adisoemarta – YD0NXX / N5SNN for the above information]
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AMSAT-LU announces transponder satellite payload and launch
(From AMSAT-LU Facebook page:)
Dear friends,
Since several years ago AMSAT Argentina is working to keep alive the
dream of
many amateur radio back into space with a satellite of its own, which is the
continuity of the legendary LuSat-1 of the años1990 and reaping the
benefits of
the technological advance of our days.
For this held various technical activities, developing experiments on board
the occasional platforms, all with the same objective: to preserve the human
group, enhance their capabilities and spread their resources by guiding
them to
the education and development of the activity.
In recent times, AMSAT Argentina has been working in many ways with the
company Satellogic, which already launched three satellites of low orbit:
Captain Beto, manolito and tita, two of them are now broadcast telemetry and
data in uhf and are identified in the Distinctive LU7AA.
Under an agreement signed between the two institutions AMSAT-LU provides
support to those missions operate one of the stations of control in uppsala,
Prov. Of BS. As.
Currently satellogic is facing the construction of a constellation of
satellites of observation of the earth and has invited AMSAT-LU to
participate
in the project of the next two satellites, the ÑUSAT 1 AND ÑUSAT 2,
riding on
one of them a Linear Transponder Analog Amateur Radio Antenna and its
corresponding.
The experiment which provides AMSAT was tested on several occasions in the
land, and also on board one of flights in a balloon launched from the
prov. Of
the Pampas. At that time was called carposat, showing a good performance in
spite of its low power and small size and weight.
On this occasion, the experiment of AMSAT LU - that has no name yet own
- will
be further reduced in its dimensions and mounted on a plaque radiadora
of 10 x
10 cm, in which also won't hold the necessary components for the Source
of food
and the duplexer. The package will be installed on the bus from the NUSAT,
which will provide the energy and will be part of a number of other
experiments
that will carry out this satellite.
The Transponder receives in the band of UHF and VHF Transmitted in, has a
bandwidth of 30 Khz and its output power is 200 mw.;
Frequencies of ascent 435.935 ~ 965 Lsb / CW,
Frequencies of descent 145.965 ~ 935 USB / CW.
Basic telemetry in 145.900 CW.
The launch is scheduled for April 2016 with a Chinese launcher in a
polar orbit
at 500 km. In Height and an inclination of 97 degrees with respect to the
equator.
This is an extraordinary opportunity to our institution, and for all the
Radioamateurs Argentines, be able to have a new satellite in orbit,
after after
so many years of successful LuSat-1.
So far, the funds needed for the preliminary activities of recent years, the
construction and the logistics, were provided by a small number of
members of
the board of directors and partners of AMSAT-LU. Now come the largest
economic
positions for the completion of the electronics and integration with the
satellite principal.
In order to comply with this circumstance, it has been proposed the
establishment of a list where it will include the names and distinctive
signs
of all those who are able and willing to work together, and then give them a
certificate alluding to his gesture.
The neighbors of the autonomous city or the great Buenos Aires, can perform
their collaboration personally during the monthly meetings of AMSAT-LU.
Also at
the headquarters of the RC Qrm Belgrano, permanent partners of AMSAT-LU.
If I'd
be interested in making donations from other sites away, we'll let you
know the
way to make their contribution.
Also, we would like to take this opportunity to invite all the partners of
AMSAT and amateur radio colleagues who are interested in suggest the
name and
the logo for our next satellite Argentine, write to us on the page of AMSAT
Argentina in Facebook or sending it by e-mail to
.
[ANS thanks Ignacio Mazzitelli, LU1ESY for the above information]
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Space Brazilian Agency With Amateur radio PY2SDR LABRE/AMSAT-BR
Brasilia, November 20, 2015 - The Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) received on
Tuesday (17) the visit of amateur Edson Wander Pereira, the first to receive
and decode the data sent by Serpens-1 cubesat.
The nanossatélite was launched into orbit from the International Space
Station
(ISS), the 17th of last September. Ham Radio is in Brasilia
(DF) to attend the 7th Meeting of Science and Technology (ECT - FGA)
which ends
today (20) in the Range Campus of the University of Brasilia (UNB).
Pereira lives in Pardinho (SP) and his visit emphasized the importance of
dissemination of knowledge to amateurs and students who are interested in
nanossatélites.
"The experimental amateur radio is an activity that collaborates with the
nanossatélites projects. This joint action causes the development of
CubeSats
in schools and universities is promoted by having more data exchange
possibilities transmitted by these nanos, "says Pereira.
At the meeting with President of the Agency, José Raimundo Braga, Pereira
received from teacher Chantal Capeletti, of UNB and coordinator of Serpens
Program, a transmitter that can be used to send data to the satellite and
experiment with its payload.
This equipment is part of the mission ground follow-up and was produced in
limited numbers, but will be distributed to experimental radio amateurs
operating in the area and among the member institutions of the
nanossatélite
consortium.
See the story here
http://www.aeb.gov.br/radioamador-ex...s-decodificar-
dados-do-serpens-1/
[ANS thanks Paulo, PV8DX for the above information]
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United Launch Alliance Reveals Transformational CubeSat Launch Program
Centennial, Colo., (Nov. 19, 2015) – As the most experienced launch company
in the nation, United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced today it is taking
CubeSat rideshares to the next level by launching a new, innovative program
offering universities the chance to compete for free CubeSat rides on future
launches.
“ULA will offer universities the chance to compete for at least six CubeSat
launch slots on two Atlas V missions, with a goal to eventually add
university
CubeSat slots to nearly every Atlas and Vulcan launch,� said Tory Bruno, ULA
president and CEO. “There is a growing need for universities to have
access and
availability to launch their CubeSats and this program will transform
the way
these universities get to space by making space more affordable and
accessible.�
"This is exactly the kind of collaborative innovation that we celebrate in
Colorado," said Lt. Gov. Joseph Garcia. “Here, we have a Colorado company
giving Colorado students at a Colorado university an unbelievable
opportunity
to send a satellite into space. What a great day for our state."
Rideshare is a flight-proven, innovative approach that provides customers a
low-cost way to achieve various mission objectives without the need for a
dedicated launch vehicle. CubeSats are miniaturized satellites originally
designed for use in conjunction with university educational projects and are
typically 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm (4 inches x 4 inches x 4 inches) and
approximately 1.3 kg (3 lbs).
“Since its inception, ULA has been committed to science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives and programs such as this
help to motivate, educate and develop our next generation of rocket
scientists
and space entrepreneurs,� said Bruno. “We are making the announcement today
with University of Colorado President Bruce Benson and University of
Colorado
Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano, key partners in STEM education, and are
pleased to offer the university the first free CubeSat launch slot in 2017.�
"CU-Boulder students have been building and operating small satellites
for 20
years, including the Colorado Student Space Weather CubeSat launched on
a ULA
Atlas rocket in 2012," DiStefano said. "The ability to provide science and
engineering students with the opportunity to fly the satellites they
build is
an invaluable motivational and educational tool. We are thrilled to partner
with ULA, a visionary organization that is helping to facilitate a
nationwide
STEM effort."
Interested universities should email by Dec. 18,
2015 to notify ULA they are interested in participating. In early 2016, ULA
will release a request for proposal (RFP) for the first competitive CubeSat
launch slots. The selected universities will be announced in August 2016.
In addition, ULA is offering the nation’s universities the chance to
help name
the new CubeSat program. Universities, educators and students can submit
names
for consideration to using a campus-issued email
address. Submissions are due by Dec.18, 2015. The winning name will be
announced early next year, and the institution will receive a free CubeSat
launch slot on a future mission.
As America’s ride to space, ULA has launched 102 missions, including 55
CubeSats, with 100 percent mission success.
About United Launch Alliance
With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the
nation’s most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has
successfully delivered more than 100 satellites to orbit that provide
critical
capabilities for troops in the field, aid meteorologists in tracking severe
weather, enable personal device-based GPS navigation and unlock the
mysteries
of our solar system.
For more information on ULA, visit the ULA website at
www.ulalaunch.com .
Join the conversation at
www.facebook.com/ulalaunch
twitter.com/ulalaunch and
instagram.com/ulalaunch.
See America’s Ride to Space Offers University Competition for Free STEM
CubeSat Rides on Future Launches
http://www.ulalaunch.com/ula-reveals...nch.aspx?title
=United+Launch+Alliance+Reveals+Transformational+C ubeSat+Launch+Program+
http://www.ulalaunch.com/cubesats.aspx
See also:
http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/11/19...e-cubesats-for
-free/
[ANS thanks Jeff Yanko, WB3JFS on the AMSAT-BB for the above information]
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Nayif-1 at UAE YouthConnect
YouthConnect is an initiative led by the Expo 2020 UAE team and is catered
specifically for the Youth of today. The Nayif-1 team took part in the
event by
throwing a workshop titled “Introduction to Cubesatellites.�
YouthConnect is the first in a long-lasting and wide-ranging series highly
interactive forums designed by youth for youth. The inaugural event took
take
place on Saturday, November 14, 2015. This first interactive, full-day
forum,
part of a far wider programme to talk to the younger members of society, was
open to all UAE residents between the ages of 18-25.
“From our earliest days conceiving Expo�, says Her Excellency Reem Al
Hashimy,
UAE Minister of State and Director General of the Bureau Dubai Expo 2020 “we
were determined to put our youth at the heart of our plans. It is these
young
men and women who will be representing and leading our nation in the
years to
come. So it is important that they contribute to these events and decide
what
they want to see and do on the day.�
Nayif-1 was built by students at the American University of Sharjah, UAE, in
partnership with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. The nanosatellite
will
incorporate a novel autonomous attitude determination and control
system. This
will be the first flight of this system. Additionally it will carry a UHF to
VHF linear transponder that will have up to 0.5 watt output and which can be
used by Radio Amateurs worldwide for SSB and CW communications.
A launch is planned for the first half 2016 on the SpaceX Falcoln 9 SHERPA
mission with deployment into an elliptical, sun synchronous, Low Earth Orbit
(LEO) of about 450 by 720 km.
Follow Nayif-1 on Twitter
https://twitter.com/Nayifone
Frequency information
http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/communications/nayif-1/
YouthConnect at Expo 2020 Dubai
http://expo2020dubai.ae/en/news/arti...s_youthconnect
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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DeorbitSail Update and Initial Camera Image
Chris Bridges 2E0OBC of the Surrey Space Centre provides this update on the
status of the DeorbitSail Cubesat.
Dear AMSAT Community,
We would like to express our gratitude for your cooperation in the
DeorbitSail
project, and update you on the status of the mission.
As you know the DOS mission was launched on 10th July. After 4 months of
operations, the satellite is healthy and stable, although unfortunately
we have
not been able to meet all of the mission objectives. Initial contact
with the
satellite was established relatively smoothly and we received a lot of good
data, both through our own ground station but also via the network of
you radio
amateurs who have been very generous with your time and help.
We achieved a power stable state early on, with good comms (uplink and
downlink) established within the first few days. We deployed the solar
panels
successfully, and managed to return to a good and stable power state after
deployment. The ADCS has been challenging from the start, and continues
to be
challenging – we have struggled to accurately determine the satellite tumble
rate and get it under control (more detail on that is included below).
We know
that the satellite has seen some very high spin rates for various reasons,
including some inherent design/magnetic characteristics which have become
apparent.
Despite many attempts, we have unfortunately not been able to deploy the
sail,
and having recently thoroughly analysed and investigated the possible
causes,
mission events and ground test data and history, we are now reaching the
conclusion that achieving successful sail deployment is very unlikely. Again
there is more detail on that in the main body of text below.
We thank you for your patience and would like to apologise for not keeping
you updated on mission progress as often as we’d hoped. The operations phase
has been a learning and sometimes stressful experience for all of the
team at
SSC, with a lot of head scratching and sleepless nights involved.
Here is some more detailed information regarding what progress and
achievements have been made during the operations to date.
• After the launch on the 10th of July, and the first week in orbit, with a
power safe and healthy satellite, the operation passed from the LEOP
phase to
the ADCS Commissioning phase. This second phase was estimated to last
between
three and four weeks; this proved to be optimistic.
• Although the spin up of the S/C was much higher than expected and
saturated
the sensors, the SU simulations and the available data suggested a large
Z-spin
rate on DOS which was confirmed by the B-field and MEMS magnetometry
measurements. To induce a bigger difference in the Moments of Inertia
(MoI) of
the two non-longitudinal axes, the decision was taken to deploy the solar
panels. This operation was performed the 10th of August.
• More than a month after the launch the satellite was really healthy, power
safe and with great comms through newly developed software defined radio and
database backend operations. Although the stabilization wasn’t achieved even
with the solar panel deployment, at one month from the launch the team
decide
to proceed with the sail deployment.
• This decision was agreed with DLR that confirmed that tumbling rates
were no
issue for the sail deployment, because the Moments of Inertia increase
rapidly
slowing down the tumble rate. DLR has performed a deployment test on
Gossamer
while tumbling before coming to this opinion.
• On the 15th of August, the first attempt for sail deployment was
performed,
the command was sent and the acknowledgement from the S/C was received,
but no
current was drawn from the boom deployer motor. Multiple experiments were
performed to try and determine the cause of sail deployment failure.
• At this point, after a thorough investigation, the most plausible
hypothesis
and justification seems to be a physical disconnection of the motor cables.
(Note that after the vibration test, it wasn’t possible to physically
inspect
the connection due to the design itself of the S/C)
Our simulations showed that with the actual configuration (deployed solar
panels, undeployed sail) the decay time should be 20 years circa.
The aim now is to exercise and exploit the parts of the satellite that are
working, and gain more confidence and experience with the SU ADCS
system, the
ISIS TRXUV and solar panels, and the SSC SDR groundstation and database
tools
to explore better the interaction of the panel circuitry with the attitude
stabilisation. That will allow us to improve our performances in the next
missions.
From here, the team have worked hard to take images of the Earth and
via SU’s
CubeSense camera – which we are delighted to show you today. This would
not be
possible without the dedication from the SSC team here and, of course, the
amateur telemetry you kindly send us. We are going to continue imaging and
testing at higher resolutions too so watch this space.
We thank you for all the support.
Chiara Massimiani, DOS Project manager & Prof Guglielmo Aglietti SSC
Director
and DOS PI
DeorbitSail
http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/telemetry/deorbitsail/
Surrey Space Centre
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/ssc/research...l/deorbitsail/
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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SPROUT SSTV and Digitalker active every Sunday
Slow Scan TV (SSTV) images in Scottie 1 format will be transmitted from the
SPROUT satellite every Sunday (Japanese Standard Time) on 437.600 MHz FM
(+/- 9
kHz Doppler shift). The Digitalker will also be active.
SPROUT, a 20 x 20 x 22 cm amateur radio nano-satellite with a mass of
7.1 kg,
launched successfully with the L-band (1236.5 MHz/1257.5 MHz/1278.5 MHz)
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite ALOS-2 on May 24, 2014 at 0305 UT.
SPROUT is in a 654 km, 97.9 degree inclination Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
SPROUT (Space Research On Unique Technology) was built by students from
Nihon
University and its objectives are:
1. Operation of satellite by radio amateurs.
A FM Digitalker will enable the satellite to speak to amateurs around
the world.
The Voice Message Box will record transmissions from radio amateurs and play
them back.
Pre-loaded images from the Message Gallery can be transmitted using Slow
Scan
TV (SSTV).
Pictures of the Earth can be transmitted by SSTV and radio amateurs can
receive it using free software such as MMSSTV. As part of the Earth mapping
project the team ask radio amateurs to contribute pictures they have
received
from the satellite for display on the SPROUT website.
The satellite also has a packet radio Digipeater and Text Message Box
function.
2. Demonstration of the deployment of the combined membrane structure and
verification of the design method of the structure SPROUT has a triangular
membrane supported by two tubes like framework. They are folded and
stored in the satellite before the launch. After the launch, the
nitrogen gas
is injected into the tubes in space, and they extend, so that the membrane
deploys (called “combined membrane structure�).
3. Demonstration of attitude determination and control of a nanosatellite
using the sun sensors, gyros, geomagnetic sensor and magnetic torquers.
Callsign: JQ1ZJQ
Size: 214x210x220 mm
Weight: 7.1 kg
Mode: 1200bps AFSK, 9600bps GMSK
CW downlink 437.525 MHz
FM packet downlink 437.525 MHz
Digipeater uplink 437.600 MHz
Digitalker downlink 437.600 MHz
SSTV downlink 437.600 MHz
SPROUT English website
http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/sprout-e/
SPROUT Japanese website
http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/sprout/
Nihon-Univ. Miyazaki Laboratory on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nihon...06566642818860
Telemetry Software
http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/sp...oftware-e.html
Telemetry format
http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/sp...lemetry-e.html
SPROUT launch data page
http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/sp...%20data-e.html
TLE’s from the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) are also
available at
http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/tle-new.txt
Free Slow Scan TV (SSTV) software MMSSTV
http://hamsoft.ca/pages/mmsstv.php
The JE9PEL website has information on other satellites on this launch
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/jaxalos2.htm
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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AMSAT Events
Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around
the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where
AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working
amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with
AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations,
forums, and/or demonstrations).
*Saturday, 5 December 2015 – Superstition Superfest 2015 in Mesa AZ
*Saturday, 9 January 2016 – Thunderbird Hamfest 2016 in Phoenix AZ
*Friday and Saturday, 19-20 February 2016 – Yuma Hamfest and 2016 ARRL
Southwest Division Convention in Yuma AZ
*Saturday and Sunday, 12-13 March 2016 – ScienceCity science fair, on
the University of Arizona campus in Tucson AZ
*Saturday, 19 March 2016 – Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Spring
Hamfest 2016 in Scottsdale AZ
*Saturday, 26 March 2016 – Tucson Spring Hamfest in Tucson AZ
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]
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ARISS News
Successful Contacts
* Kiluutaq School, Umiujaq, Nunavik Quebec, Canada, telebridge via W6SRJ
The ISS callsign was NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut was Kimiya Yui KG5BPH
Contact was successful: Tue 2015-11-17 16:47:02 UTC 41 deg
We are students from Kiluutaq school. Our school is located in the
village of
Umiujaq. This is a small village of about 460 people in northern Quebec
(Canada). In winter, we use special clothes to go hunting. We hunt seals,
belugas, caribou, fish and foxes. In addition, every year we celebrate the
blueberry festival and we pick a lot of blueberries. Our village is very
special since we are talking 3 different languages: Inuttitut, English and
French. In our village there are two stores, a school, an arena, an
airport,a
health center and a community center.
Steve, VE3TBD reported:
Contact went well... very well in fact.
All questions answered - 13
140 students.
50 parents.
Astronaut was a little low at times but overall very good. I heard him well
but I know the many languages and cultures do influence how we hear things -
very interesting to have the French, English and native languages involved.
Our humanoid robot did a very god job of getting the students up for event.
Presentations were undertaken in both English and local language.
My thanks goes to the very excellent job by Radio Station W6SRJ, Moderator
Brian Jackson and all else connected and involved.
* A direct contact via OEØARISS with students at BORG Monsbergergasse,
Graz,
Austria, was successful Mon 2015-11-09 09:42:15 UTC 49 deg. Astronaut Kjell
Lindgren KO5MOS answered 11 questions for students.
The BORG Monsbergergasse is a grammar school in Graz, Monsbergergasse
16. Graz
is the second largest city in Austria, located in the southeast of the
country.
The school can easily be reached from everywhere in Graz using public
transport.
About 800 students attend the school and there are about 100 teachers. Our
students can choose between 5 different areas of interest: sports, science,
music, art and informatics. After four to five years the students
graduate from
school after taking their A-levels.
The school offers a fantastic infrastructure for the students. Apart
from the
classrooms there is a lab, a library and a cafeteria. There are special
computer rooms, four gyms and outside there are several courts for doing
sports. Besides there is a garden to relax in the breaks.
Upcoming Contacts
* Scuola Media Statale “G. Marconi�, Soleto, Lecce, Italy, And, Scuola
Secondaria di Primo Grado “Benedetto Croce�, Civate, Italy, telebridge via
VK4KHZ
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Kimiya Yui KG5BPH
Contact is a go for: Mon 2015-11-23 09:21:53 UTC 87 deg
The event will be webcast on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkFhGc2nes4
* Dragonskolan, Umeå, Sweden, telebridge via VE4ISS
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS
Contact is a go: Tue 2015-11-24 09:44:25 UTC 78 deg
Watch
http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html
for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled.
[ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information]
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* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* W5PFG Plans Satellite Operation From South Padre Island
IOTA NA-092 - (Satellite Op) Clayton, W5PFG, will operate portable from
South Padre Island, Texas, in EL16 between November 22-26th. He plans to
operate several passes a day from EL15, covering the southern-most tip of
Texas. An operation from EL06 is possible sometime in the beginning of that
week. You can follow his operation on Twitter <https://twitter.com/@w5pfg>
starting November 21st. It's possible he will operate once or twice while
enroute. Clayton will try to work as many different satellites as possible.
He tends to favor FO-29, typically 15-20 kHz above the center of the
transponder.
[ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1240 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 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,
Joe Spier, K6WAO
k6wao at amsat dot org
_______________________________________________
Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans