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[ans] ANS-225 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 225.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
August 12, 2012
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-225.01
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Return Your AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Ballots by September 15
AMSAT Corporate Secretary, Alan Biddle, WA4SCA said, "By now, all =
members in good standing of AMSAT-NA should have received their bal-
lots, including the position biographies by the candidates. We have =
a full slate of candidates this year. Remember, this is one of your
best opportunities to make your views on the path of our organiza-
tion known."
Additional information for those interested can be found in the min-
utes of the 2011 Board Meeting which appear in the current issue of =
the AMSAT Journal. =
Select no more than three of the six listed candidates (in alphabetical
order):
+ Tom Clark, K3IO
+ Steve Coy, K8UD
+ Mark Hammond, N8MH
+ Lou McFadin, W5DID
+ Gould Smith, WA4SXM
+ Patrick E. Stoddard, WD9EWK
The 3 candidates receiving the most votes will become directors
serving 2 year terms. The 2 receiving the next highest number of
votes will be seated as alternates for 1 year terms.
You must mail your ballot back to be received at the AMSAT-NA Office
no later than the close of business on September 15, 2012:
AMSAT
850 Sligo Avenue, #600
Silver Spring, MD 20910
[ANS thanks AMSAT Corporate Secretary, Alan Biddle, WA4SCA for the
above information]
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Hotel Information for the 2012 AMSAT Symposium in Orlando
The 2012 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting will be held in =
Orlando, Florida on October 26 - 28, 2012. Information about the
Symposium is posted as it becomes available at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2012/index.php
The Symposium Hotel is the Holiday Inn at Orlando-International =
Airport is located one mile from the Orlando International Airport =
(MCO). The AMSAT discount rate is $99 + taxes per night. The reser-
vation block code used when calling the hotel directly is AMT.
The hotel telephone number is 407-851-6400. The Symposium Committee =
recommends you make reservations by calling the hotel directly rather
than through the Web. Cutoff date for reservations is Oct 6, 2012. =
The direct link to the hotel web page is: =
http://www.holidayinn.com/hotels/us/en/orlando/mcoap/hoteldetail =
The hotel offers free Internet connection and free airport shuttle. =
When you arrive at the Orlando Airport call 407-709-5310 to request =
the shuttle.
The Orlando International Airport (MCO) is the closest to the Sympos-
ium and is served by most major air carriers. The hotel address is: =
5750 T.G. Lee Blvd =96 Orlando, FL 32822. A map link is included on =
the hotel web page.
Watch for announcement from the Symposium Committee soon about the =
opening of registration. The cost of the Symposium is:
+ Symposium Registration including Proceedings
o Through September 23, 2012: $ 45.00
o Starting September 24, 2012: $ 50.00
o At the Door: $ 55.00
+ Saturday Evening Banquet $ 45.00
+ Sunday Morning Area Coordinators=92 Breakfast $ 15.00
+ Monday (Oct 29) bus trip to KSC and entrance ticket $ 100.00
[ANS thanks the 2012 Symposium Committee for the above information]
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Dr. Mark Hammond N8MH to speak at Space Colloquium
The 27th AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will be held on =
the weekend of 15-16 September at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Guildford, =
GU2 7XZ, England close to the University of Surrey.
The full presentation schedule is being finalized and will be pub-
lished shortly but, in the meantime we can confirm that it will be =
a truly international event. Among the many notable speakers will =
be Dr. Mark Hammond, N8MH from North Carolina. Mark is AMSAT-VP =
for Educational Relations and will be giving two presentations.
The first will include updates on significant AMSAT-NA developments, =
including information about activities related to International Tra-
ffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) matters. He will also provide a gen-
eral and technical update about the Fox family of CubeSats.
The second presentation will address the challenges presented by the =
current trend of justifying satellite construction and launches =
through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. =
Specific hurdles faced by radio amateur satellite organizations will =
be highlighted. Progress made by AMSAT-NA through educational partner-
ships with the ARRL, NASA, and ARISS will be discussed.
The weekend event is open to all. It attracts an international audi-
ence that ranges from those involved in building and operating Ama-
teur Radio satellites to beginners who wish to find out more about =
this fascinating branch of the hobby.
Tour Feature: SSTL Kepler Building
----------------------------------
Colloquium attendees will have an opportunity to visit the satellite =
facilities in the new Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) =
Kepler Building. The tour will include exclusive access to inspect =
the new SSTL clean room and integration facilities at the recently =
opened Kepler Building. If you have visited their previous facilities =
at the university campus, during previous Colloquia, you will be =
amazed by what is happening now.
There will be presentations by experts from AMSAT-SA, AMSAT-NA and =
AMSAT-DL on their current spacecraft projects. Also planned are Cube-
Sat presentations on UKube-1, Strand-1 and, of course the FUNcube-1 =
project. We will be including an exclusive roundup of a number of =
new live and potential spacecraft projects that are under investi-
gation and/or development. Additionally a number of presentations =
are planned covering new communications techniques and similar futur-
istic topics.
You'll be able to participate all the usual networking opportunities, =
the gala dinner and auction/raffle, plus the opportunity to operate =
the sophisticated groundstation in the GB4FUN mobile demonstration =
module.
All accommodation will be at the Holiday Inn hotel. Please note that =
the hotel will only hold our reserved rooms until 3 weeks prior to =
the event, ie until August 24. If you book after this date, you risk =
there not being a room available. Bookings for Fri/Sun nights, or =
ones made after this date cannot be guaranteed. Rooms and Saturday=92s =
Gala Dinner must be booked in advance in the AMSAT-UK shop.
For booking see: http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium/twelve
AMSAT-UK posted an article at: http://www.uk.amsat.org/9388
This page also contains the links which will allow you to find regis-
tration information for the Colloquium.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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Successful ARISS Contacts With Scouting Space Jam 6
Scouts attending Space Jam 6, which was held at the Octave Chanute =
Aerospace Museum in Rantoul, Illinois, participated in an ARISS con-
tact with ISS astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, KE5DNI on Sunday, August 5. =
Hoshide was able to answer 22 space-related questions posed by the =
scouts before losing the radio connection. Space Jam focused on "The =
History of Aviation" this year and offered lessons on Space Explora-
tion, Radio, Aviation, Electronics and Robotics among other STEM =
topics. Approximately 1000 scouts, leaders and parents turned out =
for Space Jam 6 this year.
Ken Holland, KC9TTR recorded the downlink from the contact and posted
the audio at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DF813COaiGaQ
[ANS thanks the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station =
(ARISS) Status Report by Carol Jackson, KB3LKI for the above
information]
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Postponed ELaNa Launch From Vandenberg Scheduled for August 14
The August 2, 2012 Atlas V rocket launch with a combination of 11
satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for the US =
Government and NASA ELaNa university cubesats was scrubbed due to a
range instrumentation problem. This launch is now scheduled to lift
off from Vandenberg on August 14.
The primary mission will launch a pair of US Navy Ocean Surveillance =
Satellites (NOSS). These satellites carry equipment to track ships =
and aircraft by triangulation of radio transmissions. The two NOSS =
satellites have a combined weight of 6500 kg. They will separate
a few days after being placed into a 1100 km circular orbit at 63=B0 =
inclination.
This is the first Atlas V launch with modified helium tanks in the =
Centaur upper stage. The change has created room in the aft skirt =
to accommodate 8 P-POD dispensers for cubesats. This launch carries =
11 cubesats, to be released into 470 x 770 km, 63=B0 orbit about 3 hours =
after launch and following maneuvers by the Centaur upper stage.
The ELaNa Cubesats aboard are:
+ CINEMA (Cubesat for Ion, Neutral, Electron, Magnetic fields)
o Downlinks for engineering telemetry and command are in the
2400-2450 MHz range; Science telemetry is in 2200-2300 MHz =
range.
+ CSSWE (Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment)
o Downlink 437.345 MHz, 9k6 with AX25
+ CP5 (PolySat)
o Downlink 437.405 MHz at 1 watt, AFSK on LSB AX.25 over NRZI at =
1200 baud, every 2 minutes, begins 3.5 hours after first turn-on.
+ CXBN (Cosmic X-Ray Background Nanosatellite)
o Downlink 437.525 MHz, GFSK, AX.25
The US Government Satellites aboard are:
+ Aeneas
o First cubesat to deploy 2.4 GHz Dish Antenna. WIFI transmitter =
will transmit on 2425.0 MHz with 1 watt of output power.
o Downlink 437.600 MHz AX25 1200 bps beacon every 10 seconds and
spread spectrum two-way link elsewhere in the 70cm band.
+ ORSES (ORS Enabler Satellite)
+ Horus
+ Re
+ Aerocube 4A, 4B, 4C
Please refer to the prior bulletin for mission summaries and satel-
lite team web pages: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000637.html
A detailed article of the launch can be found on-line at:
http://www.americaspace.org/?p=3D23568
[ANS thanks NASA, the CubeSat Teams noted above, AMSAT-UK, and =
Gunter's Space Page for the above information]
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ESA Announces New Educational Cubesat Initiative
AMSAT-UK has received notice that the European Space Agency's =
Education Office is inviting the CubeSat community to send their =
notifications of interest for a new initiative involving the dev-
elopment of educational picosatellites and the provision of de-
ployers and launch services. The call closes on 7 September 2012.
Following the successful launch of seven CubeSats on Vega=92s maid-
en flight in early 2012, ESA has decided to pursue further educa-
tional CubeSat-related activities.
In order to gather valuable information that will help better de-
fine the terms of its initiative, ESA=92s Education and Knowledge =
Management Office needs to get an overview of the level of interest =
both from educational CubeSat developers and from commercial suppli-
ers that are eligible to participate in the programme.
Call 1: Educational CubeSat development
---------------------------------------
This call for Notification of Interest is open to institutions from =
ESA Member States and Cooperating States which intend to develop =
CubeSats for educational purposes.
Teams interested in participating are invited to send their Notifica-
tion of Interest to cubesats@esa.int
The email subject should be: =93CubeSat opportunity =96 Name of the =
proposed CubeSat project=94 and should be sent before 12:00 CEST =
7 September 2012.
Further information at: =
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Education/SEMRLXSX55H_0.html
ESA =96 Towards a new educational CubeSat initiative
http://www.uk.amsat.org/9515
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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Welcome to Gale Crater - Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Lands
With Curiosity now safely on the surface of the Red Planet after its
August 6 entry, descent and landing in Gale Crater, NASA's Mars Sci-
ence Laboratory began its planned primary one-Martian-year (98-week) =
mission of discovery and exploration.
Re-live the entry, descent and landing at Jet Propulsion Labs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=3Dplayer_embedded&v=3DgiZY2JuuhZA
The Curiosity Mars Descent Imager (MARDI) captured the rover's descent =
to the surface. The instrument shot 4 frame per second video from heat
shield separation to the arrival on the ground. The last few seconds =
show the dust being kicked up as the flying skycrane approached the =
surface:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=3Dplayer_embedded&v=3DUcGMDXy-Y1I
Watch the arrival on Mars in an exciting movie trailer format:
http://www.universetoday.com/96646/curiositys-awesome-landing-trailer/
This week the rover checked its health and determined its location,
orientation and tilt on the surface of Mars. All initial spacecraft =
activities appear to have been completely nominal. The JPL control
team next commenced with firing all of Curiosity's pyrotechnic de-
vices for releasing post-landing deployments. =
Spring-loaded deployments, such as removal of dust covers from the =
Hazard-Avoidance cameras (Hazcams) occurred shortly after landing en-
abling Curiosity to acquire images with its front and rear Hazcams.
Additional post-landing checkout activity included testing of the =
UHF telecommunications system and rover motor controller assembly. =
Approximately five megabytes of data were successfully relayed back =
to Earth from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft during the first day.
Curiosity landed facing east-southeast within Gale Crater, with a =
heading of 112.7 degrees (plus or minus five degrees), and a few =
degrees of tilt. =
The latest official mission information, photos, and video is always =
posted at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ - and -
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/msl_landing.cfm
Finally, Curiosity Rover vehicle tires have tread patterns that =
imprint the acronym JPL in Morse Code in the dusty soil of the =
Mars surface. See the report on the ARRL web at:
http://tinyurl.com/MorseOnMars (www.arrl.org)
[ANS thanks NASA and JPL for the above information]
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Pioneer of Radio Astronomy Sir Bernard Lovell Dies
The BBC reports pioneering astronomer and physicist Sir Bernard =
Lovell has died aged 98. He was the founder of University of Man-
chester's Jodrell Bank Observatory. Jodrell Bank is dominated by =
the iconic 76m (249ft) Lovell Radio Telescope, was completed in =
1957. he telescope and his other contributions to radio astronomy =
led to him being knighted in 1961. He continued to come in to work =
at the Observatory until quite recently when ill health intervened.
The structure remains the third largest steerable telescope in the =
world and plays a key role in global research on pulsating stars, =
testing extreme physics theories including Einstein's general theory =
of relativity.
The BBC posted the news at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19164236
[ANS thanks the BBC for the above information]
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Raytheon Building the New Space Fence Radar
The Air Force expects to deploy its $3.5 billion space fence sys-
tem by 2017 to improve its space debris tracking ten-fold. As many =
as 200,000 pieces of orbital debris can be tracked with the S-band =
radars.
Lockheed Martin competed with Raytheon for the contract mandating a
scalable, solid-state S-band radar with a wavelength frequency capa-
ble of detecting objects far smaller than the half-century-old Air =
Force Surveillance System the new system will replace.
Lockheed Martin demonstrates their prototype space fence in a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D7SJdN90vT04&feature=3Dplayer_embedded
Raytheon won the contract which they describe as multiphase acquisi-
tion program, leading to the delivery of up to three, globally posi-
tioned, S-band radars operating in the U.S. Space Surveillance Net-
work. Raytheon posted information on-line at:
http://tinyurl.com/RaytheonSpaceFence (raytheon.com)
Amateurs can listen to meteor pings detected by the present genera-
tion of the Air Force Space Surveillance Radar in Texas at:
http://spaceweatherradio.com/
[ANS thanks CNET, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin for the above
information]
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There's an App For That - ID Visible Satellite Flyovers
WhatSat - Satellite Explorer helps you identify and learn about sat-
ellites that you see passing overhead in the night sky. It can also =
be used as a satellite spotting aid. The satellite catalog includes =
150 or so of the brightest orbiting objects as identified by NORAD. =
For each satellite listed there is a description and an image (when =
available).
The first mode of operation allows you display a list of currently
visible satellites if you see one passing overhead. The app shows you =
a ground track of the satellite to give you some idea where and how =
far away it actually is.
The second mode of operation gives you a list of what is visible =
with a visibility indicator, azimuth, and elevation to help you find
satellites. This includes a map view of the ground tracks.
WhatSat requires cell service or WiFi to access the server that =
does satellite flyby calculations.
Read more information at:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=3Dcom.finchconsulting.whatsat
Editor's Note: This is not an AMSAT-NA product but is mentioned due =
to its applicability and potential interest to our readers with no =
endorsement implied.
[ANS thanks SpaceWeather.com for the above information]
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Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ The AMSAT-NA On-line Store at http://store.amsat.org/ will be re-
opening on August 13, 2012.
+ A QSL card is now available for AubieSat-1 / AO-71 reception. Oper-
ators desiring a confirmation of receipt for AO-71 are invited to =
send their signal reports to: =
Dr. J-M Wersinger, KI4YAU
Allison Laboratories Room 210
Auburn University, AL 36849
Please note the date and time of receipt on your request (or your =
QSL card), as well as any other pertinent receiving information or =
conditions. Copies of the content of the CW signals you copied are =
requested, but not required. Any other questions regarding Aubie-
Sat-1 may be emailed to: jm.wersinger <at> gmail.com
+ JPL Infographics, a newly launched website and resource database =
from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is inviting space aficion-
ados and graphic wizards to take on a visual challenge by grabb-
ing NASA data and transforming them into a scientific work of art.
The website provides extensive collections of NASA science and =
mission data, graphics and space images that members of the public =
can download and use to create their own infographics - creative =
illustrations of complex data. Users can then upload their info-
graphics, have them reviewed by JPL experts, and share their crea-
tions in a public gallery on the JPL website: =
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/infographics/
+ KP2, U.S. Virgin Islands has been reported to be active on the =
linear satellites. (On the Birds!). Wyatt, AC0RA, reports that =
he made a QSO on August 2nd with Rich, KP2CT, from St. Thomas on =
FO-29 for his first satellite contact. Rich will initially focus
on operating via FO-29.
+ Listen for Jerry Brown, K5OE using his UK call M0GOE as he oper-
ates on the FM satellites during a family holiday next week from =
IO82 and IO81/82 border (Sunday thru Thursday), and IO72 (Wednesday, =
15 Aug 2012, 1400z - 1630z). If he can get to the border between =
IO71/72 he will try that, but there might not be enough time. Nova =
Scotia, Quebec, and W1/2/3 should be in range to the west.
+ Jeff, KB2M says all the requested 13 Colonies special event QSL =
cards for his satellite operations from K2I (NJ), and K2E (DE) =
are in the mail. If anyone else who worked us wants a card please =
send a SASE to KB2M, at his address listed at QRZ.com. =
+ New Stunning ISS Time-lapse: Earth Illuminated shows aurora, light-
ning, our Milky Way Galaxy, city lights and other sights as seen =
from orbit: =
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dr7UfMq-b0Uo&feature=3Dplayer_embedded
+ The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) has released the larg-
est three-dimensional map of massive galaxies and distant black =
holes ever created, and it pinpoints the locations and distances =
of over a million galaxies. It covers a total volume equivalent =
to that of a cube four billion light-years on a side. A video re-
leased with the map takes viewers on an animated flight through =
the Universe as seen by SDSS. There are close to 400,000 galaxies =
in the animation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=3Dplayer_embedded&v=3D08LBltePDZw
=
+ AMSAT Commemorative Shirt for the 2012 Symposium is only avail-
able by mail order. If you have not received a copy of the order
form you can download and print a copy from the the link on the
front page at: http://www.amsat.org. The deadline for receiving
your mail order is September 21, 2012.
+ The next Hudson Valley Satcom net dates are Thursday, August 16,
August 30, 8 PM EDT (UTC-4 UTC) on the 146.97 MHz MBARC Repeater =
(PL 100). An echolink connection is available on the N2EYH-L node. =
More information at: http://www.hvsatcom.org. (Stu, WA2BSS)
+ The Carpcomm Space Communication Network invites amateur satellite
operators to participate and share cubesat information. Read more
of their mission at: http://carpcomm.com/
+ Tom W5KUB says the webcasts on http://w5kub.com from the Huntsville =
Hamfest will go live Friday morning August 17 for the drive from =
Memphis to Huntsville. The Huntsville hamfest is August 18-19 with
internet webcast streaming for the entire event.
[ANS thanks everyone 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. And with that, please keep in mind like Earth, Mars has =
four seasons because the planet tilts on its axis. The seasons vary =
in length because of Mars' eccentric orbit around the sun. In the =
northern hemisphere, spring is the longest season at seven months. =
Summer and fall are both about six months long. Winter is only four =
months long. On average, the temperature on Mars is about minus 80 =
degrees F (minus 60 degrees C). In winter, near the poles tempera-
tures can get down to minus 195 degrees F (minus 125 degrees C). A =
summer day on Mars may get up to 70 degrees F (20 degrees C) near =
the equator, but at night the temperature can plummet to about minus =
100 degrees F (minus 73 C).
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
_______________________________________________
Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans
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