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Today's Topics:
1. ANS-116.02 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins (E.Mike McCardel)
2. Re: ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA Opportunity for
GEO (Gregory Beat)
3. Re: ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA Opportunity for
Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit (Gary Mayfield)
4. Re: ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA Opportunity for
Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit (Paul Stoetzer)
5. Re: ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA Opportunity for
Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit (Jerry Buxton)
6. Re: ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA Opportunity for
Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit (Gus)
7. Re: ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA Opportunity for
Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit (Jerry Buxton)
8. The League publicizes (Robert McGwier)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2015 21:17:59 -0400
From: "E.Mike McCardel" <mccardelm@xxxxx.xxx>
To: Amsat - BBs <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] ANS-116.02 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
Message-ID:
<CAM5+sosuypVen8C+rrBOSzMqQ74Yy7YmLdNFwsZ04KEZyRhGBQ@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-116.02
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:
* AMSAT-NA Opportunity for Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit
* Nayif-1 CubeSat mission will have FUNcube transponder
* Central States VHF Society Annual Conference, July 23 - 26
* Current and Upcoming Satellite Operations
* AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention - Third call for volunteers
* Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! - Submission Deadline May 30
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-116.02
ANS-116.02 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 116.02
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
April 26, 2015
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-116.02
AMSAT-NA Opportunity for Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit
AMSAT is excited to announce that we have accepted an opportunity to
participate in a potential rideshare as a hosted payload on a
geostationary satellite planned for launch in 2017. An amateur radio
payload, operating in the Amateur Satellite Service, will fly on a
spacecraft which Millennium Space Systems (MSS) of El Segundo, CA is
contracted to design, launch, and operate for the US government based
on their Aquila M8 Series Satellite Structure.
A meeting to discuss this potential rideshare took place on April 13
at Millennium Space Systems that included Dr. Bob McGwier, N4HY;
Franklin Antonio, N6NKF, co-founder of Qualcomm; Jerry Buxton, N0JY,
AMSAT Vice President of Engineering and member of the board for AMSAT-
NA; Dr. Tom Clark, K3IO, Director and President Emeritus of AMSAT-NA;
Phil Karn,KA9Q; and Michelle Thompson, W5NYV.
Hosting the meeting for MSS were Stan Dubyn as founder and chairman
of MSS, Vince Deno as president of MSS, Jeff Ward, K8KA, of MSS as VP
for Product Development, formerly with SSTL and University of Surrey
Space Center, and Ryan Lawrence of MSS as Project Manager on the
spacecraft mission. Attending by telephone were Dr. Jonathan Black,
Associate Research Director of Hume Center for Aerospace Systems and
Associate Professor of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering and Dr.
Michael Parker, KT7D, founder of RINCON Research Corp.
Following the meeting, Dr. Bob McGwier, N4HY, Director of Research
at the Hume Center for National Security and Technology of Virginia
Tech, and former director and former VP Engineering of AMSAT,
described this as an opportunity to go forward with "AMSAT-Eagle"
which, in the 2006-2008 timeframe, evolved into a microwave payload
to be flown to geostationary orbit as a hosted payload. It would have
provided digital communications to small terminals on the ground and
a linear bent pipe transponder had it flown. This failed to go
forward in part due to lack of an affordable flight opportunity.
McGwier outlined the next steps toward developing this mission:
1) To organize an effort at Virginia Tech to make a firm proposal
to MSS and its US government sponsor, and organize an effort
to raise sufficient funds to pay for development of the mission.
2) Enable Dr. Jonathan Black to lead the construction project at
Virginia Tech in the Space@xx Center. Sonya Rowe, KK4NLO, Project
Manager at the Hume Center will be the project manager.
3) Work for development of a low-cost microwave ground station for
amateur radio still needs to be determined.
4) Dr. Michael Parker, KT7D, will solicit the cooperation of the
Rincon Research Corp. for development of the software radio
technology for this payload.
The AMSAT Board of Directors has accepted the invitation to
participate in this potential rideshare payload opportunity. AMSAT
expects to be involved in the development of the ground station and
the payload RF development, and will serve as the amateur radio
(hosted) payload operator once the satellite has been launched.
McGwier summarized, "The launch is currently scheduled for 2017 and
the payload must be delivered for testing and integration by Spring
of 2016. It is an ambitious schedule and all involved will have to
gain and maintain a serious level of commitment to that which they
agree to undertake." AMSAT President, Barry Baines, WD4ASW, said,
"The AMSAT leadership is excited to fly a Phase-IV geostationary
amateur satellite payload. This is an evolving development as we
collaborate with the VT Hume Center with a project that provides
technical challenges to create a new amateur radio capability in
space that will provide a variety of benefits not only for amateurs
but also for emergency communications and STEM educational outreach."
The transponder is expected to support a wide range of voice,
digital, and experimental advanced communications technologies. A
decision is expected soon specifying the microwave uplink and
downlink bands.
Additional information on the Aquila M8 Series Satellite can be viewed
on-line:
http://www.millennium-space.com/
http://www.millennium-space.com/platforms#aquila
AMSAT has posted a photo of the GEO opportunity team with the
Millennium Aquila satellite at: http://www.amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Bob McGwier, N4HY and AMSAT-NA for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Nayif-1 CubeSat mission will have FUNcube transponder
AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL are delighted to announce that a FUNcube
communications package has been selected as a major payload for the
Nayif-1 CubeSat mission.
This mission is intended to provide Emirati students with a tool to
design and test systems in space. It is being developed by the
Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) in
partnership with American University of Sharjah (AUS).
It is expected that this payload will provide a large amount of
valuable environmental data from space together with a new,
enhanced, UHF to VHF linear transponder.
The AMSAT team will be working closely with the Emirati students, in
collaboration with support partner, ISIS - Innovative Solutions In
Space B.V. from the Netherlands, to develop this new system in time
for the launch which is scheduled to take place towards the end of
2015.
This exciting news was announced on April 25, 2015 during the Dutch
"Interessedag Amateursatellieten" or "Satellite Interest Day" event
in Apeldoorn.
More information, with details of frequencies and planned operating
schedules, will be made available as soon as possible.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Central States VHF Society Annual Conference, July 23 - 26
The Central States VHF Society Annual Conference for 2015 is being
held in the Denver Colorado Metro area between Thursday July 23rd and
Sunday July 26th. The local sponsor this year is Rocky Mountain Ham
Radio. The convention site is the Denver Marriott Westminster; the
venue is available for booking at the Society special conference rate
of $109 per night. Please plan on booking your vacation around the
conference as the special room rate is available from Monday July
20th through Wednesday July 29th.
The conference will feature the traditional activities, Banquet,
Luncheons and hospitality suites, technical programs, noise figure
measurement, antenna range, Rover vehicle show and tell. Speaker for
the Saturday evening banquet is Rick Roderick K5UR First Vice
President of ARRL and an avid VHFer. There are a wide variety of
activities available along the Front Range of Colorado and there will
be an offering of a choice of side trips designed to entertain the
entire family. Operating opportunities under consideration include
operating from the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio remote base station in
Pueblo, microwave operating from local mountain tops and the chance
to score a microwave VUCC in a weekend! Just bring your own
equipment! There will be introductory programs geared to newcomers to
weak signal operation on the VHF+ bands that will be promoted locally
and designed to encourage younger hams to get involved in DX'ing and
contesting.
Conference registration, as well as a link to the conference venue
for bookings, is now available at http://2015.csvhfs.org/ Please
visit the site if you need any other additional information
[ANS thanks Doug K2AD for the above information]
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Current and Upcoming Satellite Operations
The following information is from the AMSAT "Upcoming Satellite
Operations" page that is maintained by Paul Stoetzer N8HM.
The following information was last updated April 25, 2015.
The most current information can be viewed anytime by visiting
http://www.amsat.org/?page_id=3921
Maritime Mobile - Captain Yuri Bodrov, UT1FG/MM, is heading north
from the Panama Canal through the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean en
route to the Port of Sept-?les in Quebec aboard the M/V Greenwing.
He is active on all satellites as well as six meters and HF from open
water grids. Track his progress on MarineTraffic. Note that Yuri
operates half duplex, so do not attempt to call while he is talking.
Arkansas (EM23/EM33) - Dave Swanson, KG5CCI, will be active on two
passes of FO-29 (2038Z and 2222Z) and one pass of AO-7 (2059Z) from
the EM22/EM23 line just north of Texarkana, AR on April 25, 2015.
Cuba (FL11) - Pavel, CO7WT, is active on SO-50 from FL11 in eastern
Cuba, mostly on evening passes during the week, and all day on
weekends.
Norway (KQ50) - Erling, LA4FPA, will be active from Vard?, Norway
(KQ50ni) with an FT-847 and an Arrow Antenna April 25 - April 30,
2015.
Florida / Dry Tortugas Islands (EL84) - Mike, WA0SPG, will be active
on FO-29 and SO-50 as WA0SPG/4 from the Dry Tortugas (EL84) May 4 -
May 6, 2015. QSL via home call. He will also be active on HF. See the
March 2, 2015 edition of the OPDX Bulletin for more details (Thanks
to John, K8YSE via the AMSAT-BB for this information).
Scotland (IO76) - The Camb Hams will be active on all satellites
from the Isle of Mull as GS3PYE/P May 15 - May 21, 2015. For more
information, see http://dx.camb-hams.com/
Cayman Islands (EK99) - Bill, NZ5N, will be active from the Cayman
Islands as ZF2EM on SO-50 May 20 - May 25, 2015. This is primarily an
EME DXpedition and they will only be on SO-50 passes when the moon is
not up.
Guernsey (IN89) - Peter Goodhall, 2E0SQL, will be active from
Guernsey (IN89) as 2U0SQL/P July 22 - July 28, 2015. He will likely
be using an FT-817 as the uplink transmitter and a FUNcube Dongle
with a laptop as the downlink receiver with an Arrow Antenna.
Operation may be sporadic and/or by sked only as the primary purpose
of the trip is for the IOTA contest.
Please submit any additions or corrections to n8hm at arrl.net
Satellite Schedule Notes
AO-73 (FUNcube-1) - Currently in full time transponder mode until
the evening of April 26, 2015 (UK time).
AO-7 - Currently operating in Mode B while in sunlight. As of April
5, 2015, the satellite appears to be losing power upon entering
eclipse several times per day and, by design, resets into Mode B when
it powers up. Since it is entering eclipse several times per day, the
24 hour timer that switches the satellite into Mode A is reset and
never has the opportunity to switch the satellite to Mode A. Note
that in the past, the satellite has unexpectedly switched modes. This
has often been observed to coincide with the presence of extremely
strong signals in the passband. Pleae limit your uplink power to no
more than 100 watts ERP.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention - Third call for volunteers
The Dayton Hamvention is less than four weeks away!
Last year, we had 52 people assist with the AMSAT booth at Dayton.
We've had a good response so far to our call for volunteers, but we
could really use another 10-15 people.
The interaction with AMSAT members, satellite operators, designers,
and builders makes the whole experience a lot of fun. Meet or renew
acquaintances, exchange operating tips, and find out what antennas,
software and equipment other AMSAT members use. We currently expect
all of the AMSAT senior officers and 5 of the 7 board members to be
there too.
The 2015 Hamvention is May 15-17. Would you consider helping AMSAT
at Dayton this year?
If you're an experienced operator, great! We can use you and your
experience.
If you've never operated a satellite before, but want to learn more,
that's OK. We can use your help too.
Whether you're available for only a couple of hours or if you can
spend the entire weekend with us, your help would be greatly
appreciated.
Please send an e-mail to Steve, n9ip@xxxxx.xxx if you can help.
Thank you!
[ANS thanks Steve, N9IP, Dayton Team Leader, for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Design The Next AMSAT Satellite! - Submission Deadline May 30
At the 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium AMSAT Vice President - Engineering
Jerry Buxton announced the plan for the next generation of AMSAT
satellites. "The door is open for everyone, to submit their ideas.
AMSAT Engineering has a long term strategy and this is the first
step."
The Engineering long term strategy includes the following goals
* Advancement of amateur radio satellite technical and communications
skills
* Enhance international goodwill
* Grow and sustain a skilled pool of amateur radio satellite engineers
* Establish and maintain partnerships with educational institutions
* Develop a means to use hardware common to all opportunities
With respect to the last goal Jerry said "Within the bounds of the
type of satellite it takes to achieve any of the various orbit
opportunities, let's consider in those plans the possibility of
developing a platform that can suit any and all orbits. Perhaps a
modular CubeSat, using a common bus as we did in Fox-1, which gives
great flexibility in building and flying different sizes and
configurations of CubeSats with simple common-design hardware
changes."
Submissions should be thorough and contain the following
information. The purpose of the proposal is not just in suggesting
an idea; being an all-volunteer team AMSAT needs your help in
carrying out the idea.
Design
Implementation - CubeSat platform
Estimated timeline
Cost - volunteer resources, commercial (COTS) units
Launch - how does it get to orbit
Strategy - how it fits into AMSAT's Engineering long term strategy
As mentioned above the idea should be based on the CubeSat platform.
This is the standard through which we will look for launches in the
foreseeable future.
In considering your proposal, Jerry encourages you to contact him,
(n0jy@xxxxx.xxx using Subject: Design the Next AMSAT Satelleite), for
more details on the criteria.
A guidebook to the criteria is now available for download at
http://tinyurl.com/ANS032-SatelliteGuide.
In particular, if you plan to include a university as a partner to
provide experiments or other support and you are not representing
that university, please contact Jerry for assistance in working with
our existing partners or establishing a new partnership.
"Being amateur radio operators, it is easy for us to fall into a
particular trap because of our history of communicating with other
amateurs throughout the world" says Jerry. "Specifically, most people
who are not already involved in the world of satellite technology are
unaware of or simply overlook the provisions of the current ITAR and
soon to be EAR export rules particularly with regard to deemed
exports which requires governmental permission to discuss satellite
projects with foreign nationals."
While all amateurs are invited to submit ideas, U.S. amateurs must
take particular care of they choose to become involved in a
collaboration which includes individuals from other countries. It is
permissible to receive ideas and proposals from outside the U.S., but
it is not permitted for U.S. Persons to export or share design ideas
with other countries unless they have taken the proper steps to
insure compliance with ITAR and deemed export rules.
Additionally, those wishing to work on proposals should use care in
presenting themselves in their contacts. While the goal is for AMSAT
to build and launch the satellite, it is not an AMSAT project until
it is accepted by the AMSAT Board of Directors. It is acceptable to
represent yourself as members of a project team that plans to submit
a proposal to AMSAT for a future satellite project, as the AMSAT name
is well known.
"It is not our intention that ideas be submitted to AMSAT-NA which
would be more appropriately handled by an AMSAT organization in a
country where AMSAT is established. AMSAT-NA is seeking ideas from
amateurs in North America and will certainly consider ideas from
amateurs in countries which do not have an established AMSAT
organization or relationships with an existing AMSAT organization."
The deadline for submissions is May 30, 2015. After the submission
date the ideas will be screened for completeness and then reviewed by
a board consisting of the AMSAT Engineering Team, AMSAT Senior
Officer and Board of Directors representatives, and aerospace
industry members. The review board may modify or consolidate ideas
and will consider which meet the criteria to become a project based
on feasibility, cost, and the ability to bring value to the amateur
satellite community. The review process is expected to be completed
in September 2015.
For those ideas selected to become a project which satisfy the
requirements for an ELaNa launch, the idea authors will be asked to
work with the AMSAT Engineering Team on an ELaNa proposal.
The Engineering Team will then work on the details of execution for
the selected project(s) and present a proposal to the AMSAT Board of
Directors in October 2015 for final approval to begin work. Once
approved, any ELaNa proposals will be submitted in November 2015 and
the project(s) will move forward.
Now is the time for YOU to begin working on the next AMSAT satellite!
[ANS thanks AMSAT Engineering for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS News
+ A Successful contact was made between East Coast Chapter Tuskegee
Airmen, Inc., Youth In Aviation Program (ECCTAI YIAP) and Oxon Hill
High School, Oxon Hill, Maryland, USA and Astronaut Samantha
Cristoforetti IZ?UDF using Callsign NAISS. The contact began 2015-04-
24 16:41:27 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was
direct via K6DUE. ARISS Mentor was KA3HDO.
Contact Audience was about 180-190
VIPs included two documented original Tuskegee Airmen and one WWII
Navy Veteran. Over a dozen from the East Coast Chapter Tuskegee
Airmen organization attended and wore Red Jackets commemorating the
Tuskegee Airmen.
The school live-streamed the event on their school newspaper
website, and recorded 100+ views the day of the event. Indirect
participants is confirmed and expected to increase when more are
confirmed. The contact was streamed into all the Price Georges
County, Maryland Schools.
News organizations: WUSA9 (TV), WRC News4 (TV), Andrews
Gazette(Newspaper), CTV Prince George's County News (TV-Local Cable),
Prince George's County Public Schools Communication Office.
12 questions were asked and 11 were answered. The last question was
barely discernable in the static.
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
Double School Contact
Sol Plaatje Primary School, Mahikeng, South Africa. and
South Africa, and Scuola Secondaria di I Grado, Caprino Bergamasco,
Italy
The contact will be a telebridge via IK1SLD
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IR?ISS
The scheduled astronaut is Samantha Cristoforetti IZ?UDF
Contact is a go for: Sat 2015-05-02 14:34:27 UTC
School Information
Scuola Secondaria di I Grado:
Caprino Bergamasco and its school are located atop of hills in
between Bergamo and Lecco region. The school facility, recently
built, serve the small community of 3000 people, it has pupils from
age 3 to 14. Students from 11 to 14 have been involved in the ARISS
activity, belonging to classes 1E, 2E, 2F and 3E.
Sol Plaatje Primary School:
It is a co-ed school having Gr.0-Gr.7. There are 1216 learners in
the school, planet Earth and beyond is part of the curriculum and as
a school they try to develop the learner's knowledge about space
bodies and inculcate a love for the subject within the learners.
Sol Plaatje Primary School participated on at the 2014 SAASTA
Astronomy Quiz with a team - made by Ebenitha Esterhuizen,
Kgotlholela Seagisa, Oratile Selatlhedi and Orefile Morule, prepared
by the teacher Ms Micalla Lucas - and resulted the best among more
than 1.700 schools.
Upcoming Russian Contacts
Ryazan, Russia, direct via TBD
Contact is a go for Thu 2015-05-07 08:30 UTC
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RS?ISS
The scheduled astronaut is Mikhail Korniyenko RN3BF
Kursk, Russia, WWII veterans, direct via TBD
Contact is a go for Sat 2015-05-09 08:20 UTC
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RS?ISS
The scheduled astronaut is Gennady Padalka RN3DT
>From 2015-05-11 to 2015-06-14, there will be no US Operational
Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during
this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team.
[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above
information]
ARISS passes along our condolences to the families of recent silent
keys:
Max IW1CNF who helped with many of the ARISS Italian telebridge
contacts.
Clive G3CWV who was very active in AMSAT
[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ Videos of the presentations from The 2015 CubeSat Workshop held
April 1 at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) are now
available on YouTube.
http://tinyurl.com/ANS116-CubesatVideos
The presentation schedule and slide PDF's are at
http://www.acser.unsw.edu.au/events/cubesat2015.html
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
+ March/April AMSAT Journal - in the Mail
Members began receiving their AMSAT Journals in the mail this
week. Keep an eye out for yours.
Membership in AMSAT is required to receive the Journal.
Annual membership is $44.00,
Join today! http://tinyurl.com/ANS116-JoinAMSAT
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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,
EMike McCardel, KC8YLD
kc8yld at amsat dot org
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2015 19:42:23 -0500
From: Gregory Beat <w9gb@xxxxxx.xxx>
To: "amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxxx <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA
Opportunity for GEO
Message-ID: <DB16A69C-6343-4554-B5C1-2C89EFAC435B@xxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Bill -
Great idea.
I had the same thought, but using NASA Goddard's LLCD (laser) that was space
tested with LADEE mission in September/October 2013.
Even if flight spares (2) were available, likely insufficient time to
incorporate into both satellites.
Greg, w9gb
------
> Hi Bob,
> Nice work to you and your team. Fingers are crossed.
>
> Question:- Any chance equipment and frequencies can be worked out to
> allow a satellite to satellite link to the upcoming Qatar Es?hail 2
> geostationary satellite. Just thinking out loud not knowing the planned
> geostationary location. The news release didn't mention (unless I missed
> it) what size/volume might be available.
>
> Regards...Bill - N6GHz
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2015 22:18:04 -0500
From: "Gary Mayfield" <kk0sd@xxxxx.xxx>
To: <AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA
Opportunity for Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit
Message-ID: <06a101d07fcf$9c1fc530$d45f4f90$@xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Truly great news!
Let me state again I am all for this!
Is anyone just a tiny bit worried this might make QSOs too easy to remain
fun?
Again I am all for this! Just expressing a tiny concern.
73,
Joe kk0sd
-----Original Message-----
From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@xxxxx.xxxx On Behalf Of JoAnne
Maenpaa
Sent: Saturday, April 25, 2015 9:11 AM
To: AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA Opportunity for
Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-116.01
ANS-116 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 116.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
April 25, 2015
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-116.01
AMSAT-NA Opportunity for Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit
AMSAT is excited to announce that we have accepted an opportunity to
participate in a potential rideshare as a hosted payload on a geostationary
satellite planned for launch in 2017. An amateur radio payload, operating in
the Amateur Satellite Service, will fly on a spacecraft which Millennium
Space Systems (MSS) of El Segundo, CA is contracted to design, launch, and
operate for the US government based on their Aquila M8 Series Satellite
Structure.
A meeting to discuss this potential rideshare took place on April 13 at
Millennium Space Systems that included Dr. Bob McGwier, N4HY; Franklin
Antonio, N6NKF, co-founder of Qualcomm; Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice
President of Engineering and member of the board for AMSAT-NA; Dr. Tom
Clark, K3IO, Director and President Emeritus of AMSAT-NA; Phil Karn, KA9Q;
and Michelle Thompson, W5NYV.
Hosting the meeting for MSS were Stan Dubyn as founder and chairman of MSS,
Vince Deno as president of MSS, Jeff Ward, K8KA, of MSS as VP for Product
Development, formerly with SSTL and University of Surrey Space Center, and
Ryan Lawrence of MSS as Project Manager on the spacecraft mission. Attending
by telephone were Dr. Jonathan Black, Associate Research Director of Hume
Center for Aerospace Systems and Associate Professor of Aerospace and Ocean
Engineering and Dr. Michael Parker, KT7D, founder of RINCON Research Corp.
Following the meeting, Dr. Bob McGwier, N4HY, Director of Research at the
Hume Center for National Security and Technology of Virginia Tech, and
former director and former VP Engineering of AMSAT, described this as an
opportunity to go forward with "AMSAT-Eagle" which, in the 2006-2008
timeframe, evolved into a microwave payload to be flown to geostationary
orbit as a hosted payload. It would have provided digital communications to
small terminals on the ground and a linear bent pipe transponder had it
flown. This failed to go forward in part due to lack of an affordable flight
opportunity.
McGwier outlined the next steps toward developing this mission:
1) To organize an effort at Virginia Tech to make a firm proposal
to MSS and its US government sponsor, and organize an effort
to raise sufficient funds to pay for development of the mission.
2) Enable Dr. Jonathan Black to lead the construction project at
Virginia Tech in the Space@xx Center. Sonya Rowe, KK4NLO, Project
Manager at the Hume Center will be the project manager.
3) Work for development of a low-cost microwave ground station for
amateur radio still needs to be determined.
4) Dr. Michael Parker, KT7D, will solicit the cooperation of the
Rincon Research Corp. for development of the software radio
technology for this payload.
The AMSAT Board of Directors has accepted the invitation to participate in
this potential rideshare payload opportunity. AMSAT expects to be involved
in the development of the ground station and the payload RF development, and
will serve as the amateur radio (hosted) payload operator once the satellite
has been launched.
McGwier summarized, "The launch is currently scheduled for 2017 and the
payload must be delivered for testing and integration by Spring of 2016. It
is an ambitious schedule and all involved will have to gain and maintain a
serious level of commitment to that which they agree to undertake." AMSAT
President, Barry Baines, WD4ASW, said, "The AMSAT leadership is excited to
fly a Phase-IV geostationary amateur satellite payload. This is an evolving
development as we collaborate with the VT Hume Center with a project that
provides technical challenges to create a new amateur radio capability in
space that will provide a variety of benefits not only for amateurs but also
for emergency communications and STEM educational outreach."
The transponder is expected to support a wide range of voice, digital, and
experimental advanced communications technologies. A decision is expected
soon specifying the microwave uplink and downlink bands.
Additional information on the Aquila M8 Series Satellite can be viewed
on-line:
http://www.millennium-space.com/
http://www.millennium-space.com/platforms#aquila
AMSAT has posted a photo of the GEO opportunity team with the Millennium
Aquila satellite at: http://www.amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Bob McGwier, N4HY and AMSAT-NA for the above information]
_______________________________________________
Sent via AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
expressed
are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2015 23:45:10 -0400
From: Paul Stoetzer <n8hm@xxxx.xxx>
To: Gary Mayfield <kk0sd@xxxxx.xxx>
Cc: "amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxxx <AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA
Opportunity for Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit
Message-ID:
<CABzOSOpedEPB=hHW8w9h0W0MZFry_p6KbTjfE=d70LR97h8u7A@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Well, there is some truth to that. Minimal Doppler shift, no checking
Keps, no running predictions to check mutual footprints with those you
want to work. Just point your dish at the satellite and talk to the
entire hemisphere! Of course, experimenting with setting up and
optimizing your ground station will be a huge part of the fun.
It's obviously a great thing for AMSAT and amateur radio in general
and I very much look forward to it!
73,
Paul, N8HM
On Sat, Apr 25, 2015 at 11:18 PM, Gary Mayfield <kk0sd@xxxxx.xxx> wrote:
> Truly great news!
>
> Let me state again I am all for this!
>
> Is anyone just a tiny bit worried this might make QSOs too easy to remain
> fun?
>
> Again I am all for this! Just expressing a tiny concern.
>
> 73,
> Joe kk0sd
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@xxxxx.xxxx On Behalf Of JoAnne
> Maenpaa
> Sent: Saturday, April 25, 2015 9:11 AM
> To: AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx
> Subject: [amsat-bb] ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA Opportunity for
> Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit
>
> SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-116.01
> ANS-116 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
>
> AMSAT News Service Bulletin 116.01
> From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
> April 25, 2015
> To All RADIO AMATEURS
> BID: $ANS-116.01
>
> AMSAT-NA Opportunity for Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit
>
> AMSAT is excited to announce that we have accepted an opportunity to
> participate in a potential rideshare as a hosted payload on a geostationary
> satellite planned for launch in 2017. An amateur radio payload, operating in
> the Amateur Satellite Service, will fly on a spacecraft which Millennium
> Space Systems (MSS) of El Segundo, CA is contracted to design, launch, and
> operate for the US government based on their Aquila M8 Series Satellite
> Structure.
>
> A meeting to discuss this potential rideshare took place on April 13 at
> Millennium Space Systems that included Dr. Bob McGwier, N4HY; Franklin
> Antonio, N6NKF, co-founder of Qualcomm; Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice
> President of Engineering and member of the board for AMSAT-NA; Dr. Tom
> Clark, K3IO, Director and President Emeritus of AMSAT-NA; Phil Karn, KA9Q;
> and Michelle Thompson, W5NYV.
>
> Hosting the meeting for MSS were Stan Dubyn as founder and chairman of MSS,
> Vince Deno as president of MSS, Jeff Ward, K8KA, of MSS as VP for Product
> Development, formerly with SSTL and University of Surrey Space Center, and
> Ryan Lawrence of MSS as Project Manager on the spacecraft mission. Attending
> by telephone were Dr. Jonathan Black, Associate Research Director of Hume
> Center for Aerospace Systems and Associate Professor of Aerospace and Ocean
> Engineering and Dr. Michael Parker, KT7D, founder of RINCON Research Corp.
>
> Following the meeting, Dr. Bob McGwier, N4HY, Director of Research at the
> Hume Center for National Security and Technology of Virginia Tech, and
> former director and former VP Engineering of AMSAT, described this as an
> opportunity to go forward with "AMSAT-Eagle" which, in the 2006-2008
> timeframe, evolved into a microwave payload to be flown to geostationary
> orbit as a hosted payload. It would have provided digital communications to
> small terminals on the ground and a linear bent pipe transponder had it
> flown. This failed to go forward in part due to lack of an affordable flight
> opportunity.
>
> McGwier outlined the next steps toward developing this mission:
>
> 1) To organize an effort at Virginia Tech to make a firm proposal
> to MSS and its US government sponsor, and organize an effort
> to raise sufficient funds to pay for development of the mission.
>
> 2) Enable Dr. Jonathan Black to lead the construction project at
> Virginia Tech in the Space@xx Center. Sonya Rowe, KK4NLO, Project
> Manager at the Hume Center will be the project manager.
>
> 3) Work for development of a low-cost microwave ground station for
> amateur radio still needs to be determined.
>
> 4) Dr. Michael Parker, KT7D, will solicit the cooperation of the
> Rincon Research Corp. for development of the software radio
> technology for this payload.
>
> The AMSAT Board of Directors has accepted the invitation to participate in
> this potential rideshare payload opportunity. AMSAT expects to be involved
> in the development of the ground station and the payload RF development, and
> will serve as the amateur radio (hosted) payload operator once the satellite
> has been launched.
>
> McGwier summarized, "The launch is currently scheduled for 2017 and the
> payload must be delivered for testing and integration by Spring of 2016. It
> is an ambitious schedule and all involved will have to gain and maintain a
> serious level of commitment to that which they agree to undertake." AMSAT
> President, Barry Baines, WD4ASW, said, "The AMSAT leadership is excited to
> fly a Phase-IV geostationary amateur satellite payload. This is an evolving
> development as we collaborate with the VT Hume Center with a project that
> provides technical challenges to create a new amateur radio capability in
> space that will provide a variety of benefits not only for amateurs but also
> for emergency communications and STEM educational outreach."
>
> The transponder is expected to support a wide range of voice, digital, and
> experimental advanced communications technologies. A decision is expected
> soon specifying the microwave uplink and downlink bands.
>
> Additional information on the Aquila M8 Series Satellite can be viewed
> on-line:
> http://www.millennium-space.com/
> http://www.millennium-space.com/platforms#aquila
>
> AMSAT has posted a photo of the GEO opportunity team with the Millennium
> Aquila satellite at: http://www.amsat.org.
>
> [ANS thanks Bob McGwier, N4HY and AMSAT-NA for the above information]
>
> /EX
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
> expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
> AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2015 23:43:53 -0700
From: Jerry Buxton <amsat@xxxx.xxx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA
Opportunity for Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit
Message-ID: <553C8929.3070704@xxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
On 4/25/2015 20:45, Paul Stoetzer wrote:
> Well, there is some truth to that. Minimal Doppler shift, no checking
> Keps, no running predictions to check mutual footprints with those you
> want to work. Just point your dish at the satellite and talk to the
> entire hemisphere! Of course, experimenting with setting up and
> optimizing your ground station will be a huge part of the fun.
>
Yes, the experimenting will be a highlight of this! With SDR capability
the possibilities are wide, from digital voice to video to data like
documents or photos, why not C4FM and even old fashioned analog.
Schools can talk to schools, learning about satellites and on analog the
delay to geo and back which is a hoot and a great way to learn to speak
without distraction (all of the AO-10/13/40 crowd remember that), and
don't forget the experimenting on the ground for smaller more portable
stations - emergency communications will be a good customer for this and
designing a portable station to go into an affected area for quick setup
and reliable communications would be outstanding. Everyone can play
however you like, in good old ham radio fashion!
And importantly, think beyond North America. Unlike a geo TV satellite
or something, this will cover all of North, Central AND South America.
Lots of opportunities to work with hams all over Region 2!
But we will continue pursuing other opportunities which include LEO or
even HEO transponders and such so don't forget about those - you can
still keep in shape so you don't get rusty on your Doppler tuning and
satellite tracking skills not to mention the STEM education we fly on
CubeSats. :-)
I just finished up at the CubeSat Developer's Workshop here at Cal Poly
tonight, and there are many opportunities for us to continue to partner
on educational outreach missions that are also amateur radio satellites
for the world to use.
Jerry
N0JY
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2015 13:03:18 -0400
From: Gus <gus@xxxxx.xxx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA
Opportunity for Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit
Message-ID: <553D1A56.5050407@xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
On 04/25/2015 11:45 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote:
> Well, there is some truth to that. Minimal Doppler shift, no checking
> Keps, no running predictions to check mutual footprints with those you
> want to work. Just point your dish at the satellite and talk to the
> entire hemisphere!
>
Hmmm. Would the ISS be able to use it to extend school contacts? I
mean, any school in the footprint would not need to use a telebridge,
and the contact could begin as soon as ISS entered the footprint and
last until it exited. Or more correctly, for the entire time the two
coverage circles overlapped, unless my brain is misfiring. The question
is, i) would the ISS be able to carry a suitable transceiver and
antenna? And ii) would it be able to point/aim said antenna?
--
Gus 8P6SM
The Easternmost Isle
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2015 10:22:26 -0700
From: Jerry Buxton <amsat@xxxx.xxx>
To: Gus <gus@xxxxx.xxx>
Cc: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ANS Special Bulletin ANS-116.01 AMSAT-NA
Opportunity for Rideshare to Geostationary Orbit
Message-ID: <e6c01115-3451-435f-94f4-ce8594b9673a@xxxxx.xxxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Hi Gus,
That idea was brought to the table in or discussions. There are lots of
hoops to getting equipment to ISS, so it may not happen soon if it can be
done at all. Anyway it's certainly up for consideration!
Jerry
N0JY
On Apr 26, 2015 10:03 AM, Gus <gus@xxxxx.xxx> wrote:
>
> On 04/25/2015 11:45 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote:
> > Well, there is some truth to that. Minimal Doppler shift, no checking
> > Keps, no running predictions to check mutual footprints with those you
> > want to work. Just point your dish at the satellite and talk to the
> > entire hemisphere!
> >
>
> Hmmm.? Would the ISS be able to use it to extend school contacts?? I
> mean, any school in the footprint would not need to use a telebridge,
> and the contact could begin as soon as ISS entered the footprint and
> last until it exited.? Or more correctly, for the entire time the two
> coverage circles overlapped, unless my brain is misfiring.? The question
> is, i) would the ISS be able to carry a suitable transceiver and
> antenna? And ii) would it be able to point/aim said antenna?
>
> --
> Gus 8P6SM
> The Easternmost Isle
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Sun, 26 Apr 2015 13:59:40 -0400
From: Robert McGwier <rwmcgwier@xxxxx.xxx>
To: amsat bb <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] The League publicizes
Message-ID:
<CA+K5gzdQWWFgYoFpgWmp_1kqunvjrj7-94aK0qvJzLAqbjTTWw@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
http://www.arrl.org/news/amsat-amateur-radio-payload-could-share-space-on-geos
tationary-satellite
--
Bob McGwier
Co-Founder and Technical Director, Federated Wireless, LLC
Research Professor Virginia Tech
Senior Member IEEE, Facebook: N4HYBob, ARS: N4HY
Faculty Advisor Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Assn. (K4KDJ)
------------------------------
Subject: Digest Footer
_______________________________________________
Sent via amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx.
AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide
without requiring membership. Opinions expressed
are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 10, Issue 121
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