XPost: rec.radio.info

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-071

In this edition:

* AMSAT Recognized for Educational Support
* ARDC Grant Funds FreeDV Project
* Radio Interference From Satellites Threatening Astronomy
* House Subcommittee Advances Five Satellite-Related Bills
* AMSAT-INDIA Participates in Science Carnival
* ISS Dodges Commercial Imaging Satellite
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* Crew 5 Hams to Splashdown Sunday
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, 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]
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You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
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ANS-071 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

To: All RADIO AMATEURS

From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation

712 H Street NE, Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002

DATE 2023 Mar 12


AMSAT Recognized for Educational Support

Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Aeronáutica y del Esp
acio of
Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain has recognized and thanked the
members of AMSAT who have supported their educational endeavors by
collecting telemetry data downloaded from the UPMSat-2 satellite around the globe.

Dr. Rafael García Romero, EA4BPN, along with project director Dr. Elen
a
Roibas and team member Dr. Angel Sanz Andres, penned the letter of
recognition dated February 17, 2023 and recently received by AMSAT. The
letter reads:

"On the celebration of UPMSat-2 launch date anniversary of the second year
in orbit, UPMSat-2 team would like to thank AMSAT for its support to the satellite downlink data gathering.

"The effort of AMSAT members is seen at IDR as a valuable 'citizen science' contribution to our project and is gratefully acknowledged.

"We expect that the UPMSat-2 will continue to work for another two years, therefore, it would bring an opportunity to continue with this fruitful collaboration.

"With our best regards, we wish all the best for AMSAT members."

UPMSat-2 sends 2-FSK data at 2400bps, with transmitted power of
approximately 2.5 watts, on 437.405 MHz. Originally scheduled to launch in 1999, it was finally launched on September 3, 2020 from the Guiana Space
Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. Launched on the flight VV16 of the Vega rocket, it entered a sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude of
approximately 518 km.

[ANS thanks Rafael García, EA4BPN, for the above information]

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The 2023 AMSAT President's Club coins are here now!
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of its launch
on June 16, 1983, this year's coin features
an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 10.
Join the AMSAT President's Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
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ARDC Grant Funds FreeDV Project

To advance the state of the art in HF digital voice and to promote its use, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) has awarded $420,000 to the
FreeDV Project.

FreeDV is a low-bit-rate digital voice mode for HF radio. Initially
developed by David Rowe, VK5DGR, an international team of radio amateurs
are now working together on the project. FreeDV is open-source software, released under the GNU Lesser Public License (LPGL) version 2.1. The modems
and Codec 2 speech codec used in FreeDV are also open source.

Hardware and software developers can integrate FreeDV into their projects
using the FreeDV API. To operate FreeDV, radio amateurs either run the
FreeDV GUI application on Windows, Linux and OSX machines or use the SM1000 FreeDV adaptor. Either method allows hams to use a single-sideband HF radio
to send and receive FreeDV signals. To learn more about FreeDV, go to https://www.freedv.org.

Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a California-based
foundation with roots in amateur radio and the technology of internet communication. The organization got its start by managing the AMPRNet
address space, which is reserved for licensed amateur radio operators worldwide.

Additionally, ARDC makes grants to projects and organizations that follow amateur radio’s practice and tradition of technical experimentation
in both
amateur radio and digital communication science. Such experimentation has
led to advances that benefit the general public, including the mobile phone
and wireless internet technology. ARDC envisions a world where all such technology is available through open source hardware and software, and
where anyone has the ability to innovate upon it. To learn more about ARDC,
go to https://www.ardc.net.

[ANS thanks ARDC for the above information]

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Radio Interference From Satellites Threatening Astronomy

Radio telescopes are facing a problem. All satellites, whatever their
function, use radio waves to transmit information to the surface of the
Earth. Just as light pollution can hide a starry night sky, radio
transmissions can swamp out the radio waves astronomers use to learn about black holes, newly forming stars and the evolution of galaxies.

In a paper published March 3,2023, Christopher Gordon De Pree, Deputy Electromagnetic Spectrum Manager, National Radio Astronomy Observatory; Christopher R. Anderson, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at
the United States Naval Academy; and Mariya Zheleva, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University at Albany, State University of New York, call
for creation of a national radio dynamic zone.

This zone would be similar to existing radio quiet zones, covering a large
area with restrictions on radio transmissions nearby. Unlike a quiet zone,
the facility would be outfitted with sensitive spectrum monitors that would allow astronomers, satellite companies and technology developers to test receivers and transmitters together at large scales. The goal would be to support creative and cooperative uses of the radio spectrum.

As the problem of radio pollution continues to grow, scientists, engineers
and policymakers will need to figure out how everyone can effectively share
the limited range of radio frequencies. One solution that astronomers have
been working on for the past few years is to create a facility where astronomers and engineers can test new technologies to prevent radio interference from blocking out the night sky.

Such a zone doesn’t exist yet, but our team and many people across
the U.S.
are working to refine the concept so that radio astronomy, Earth-sensing satellites and government and commercial wireless systems can find ways to share the precious natural resource that is the radio spectrum.

[ANS thanks The Conversation for the above information]

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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through
AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards
Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.
https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/

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House Subcommittee Advances Five Satellite-Related Bills

A U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee unanimously approved five space-related bills March 8, including legislation seeking to modernize regulations for satellites in non-geostationary orbit (NGSO).

+ The Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act (HR 1338) would
give the FCC defined deadlines for processing satellite license
applications. It would require the FCC to “modernize its rules to e
ncourage
operators to base their operations in the United States,” said Hous
e Energy
and Commerce Chair Cathy Rodgers (R-Wash.), “and incentivize operat
ors to
be responsible stewards of space and spectrum in a global marketplace.�
��

+ The Secure Space Act (HR 675) would prohibit the FCC from granting
satellite licenses to foreign entities the U.S. deems a threat to national security or domestic supply chains.

+ Launch Communications Act (HR 682) would streamline the process for
accessing certain spectrum for performing commercial spacecraft launches
and reentries.

+ Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act (HR 1339) would compel
the FCC would to review rule changes that could help promote space-based communications for the agriculture market.

+ Advanced, Local Emergency Response Telecommunications Parity Act (HR
1353) would facilitate the use of satellites as providers of connectivity
for emergency services in areas hit by natural disasters or otherwise
lacking wireless communications.

[ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information]

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AMSAT-INDIA Participates in Science Carnival

To celebrate National Day of India on February 28 one of the biggest
Science Carnival 2023 was organised by Gujarat state - India at prestigious Science City Ahmedabad during 28th February to 4th March 2023.

AMSAT-INDIA was specially invited to participate in this biggest scientific exhibition for mass awareness on Amateur Radio & Satellite Communication!

AMSAT-INDIA Regional Coordinator Rajesh Vagadia VU2EXP & team member Sakshi Vagadia VU3EXP did huge efforts to mass promote AMSAT activities amongst
all sort of visitors which includes young kids, school-college students, budding engineers, IT Programmers, general public, professionals from
various industries, scientists from renowned organization like ISRO, PRL,
IPR, VSSE, ISR, officers from BSF, Police, Fire dept and citizens from
every walk of life! More than 100,000 visitors were reported and grabbed
the opportunity to visit science carnival 2023 and our Science exhibition during 5 days.

AMSAT-INDIA stall was spacious & decent sized at 3m x 3m, it was a big attraction at the center of the Science Exhibition. With well prepared different informative Banners on AMSAT-INDIA, Various Satellite Activities, Amateur Radio Satellite chronology, ARISS Student outreach program, ARISS
SSTV event, Question submission for our upcoming ARISS student outreach
program etc was absolutely eye catching from a distance.

For the curious visitors we tried to highlight every aspect of our hobby
and exhibited all sorts of Radio stuff, Documents, QSL Cards, Books, Ham License, Awards, Project articles, Tracking software, SSTV software, SDR Software, Cube Satellite models etc to give bit idea of our hobby.

Experiencing various amateur radio gear, satellite antenna & test
instruments were highly appreciated by visiting budding engineers from a
number of colleges at AMSAT-INDIA stall. Some of the stuff we displayed include; Dual band Arrow-II antenna, dual band Yagi, tape measure antenna,
GP, Telescopic antenna for SDR, Radios includes Icom IC-705 with LiFePO4 battery pack, Kenwood VHF base, half dozen of VHF/UHF HTs, RTL-SDR setup,
LDG ATU, NanoVNA, Morse Key, cw oscillator, Paddle, electronic keyer,
SWR/Power meter, Cable, Connectors etc. It made our task easy to explain
the use of each stuff according to the visitors' query.

We came across various types of queries like how to be a Ham, Procedure to
get license, Types of Amateur Radio satellites, operating modes, setting up ground station, how to receive ISS SSTV images, how to establish satellite contact etc. We made a humble attempt to answer & satisfy all of those
queries. We enjoyed a very detailed discussion with students/groups who
already know about Amateur Radio and always need to learn more on Satellite Communication.

We also highlighted contributions of worldwide AMSAT organizations, IARU, ARISS, RSGB, ARRL and our ARSI & GIAR. I also mark a note on an author and
my teacher Mr. Nagendra Vijay of popular Gujarati Science magazine named 'Scope' who did tremendous efforts to introduce Ham Radio in Gujarat
(India) 40 years back and still continue to create awareness via it's
leading Science magazine 'Safari', his stall was just after a row.

Our AMSAT-INDIA stall were visited by many well-wisher GIAR Ham friends including VU2CPV Pravinbhai, VU2JGI Jagdishbhai, VU2MJP Manojbhai, VU2SPF Bhatnagarji, VU3APY Asheshbhai, VU3VDC Vitthhalbhai, VU3GLY Priyesh, VU3WHO Snehal etc.

It was a great experience for us to spend the whole 5 days enjoying talking
& explaining our favorite hobby Amateur Radio & Satellite Communication!

We were happy to present amateur radio as a scientific hobby &
experimenting platform for diversified fields and not just emergency communication tools!

Lots of positive & appreciating feedback we received in the visitor
feedback book.

We are thankful to Science Carnival 2023 Organiser Dr. Vrajesh Parikh,
Pulkesh Prajapati, Dr. Narotam Sahoo & team for inviting us for this prestigious Science Carnival Exhibition. I also thank our AMSAT-INDIA
Secretary Mr Nitin Muttin VU3TYG, Director Educational B. A. Subramani
VU2WMY, President Ramesh Ramsubbu VU2RMS & committee for complete guidance
and support extended to us.

I specially thank team member Sakshi Vagadia VU3EXP & my XYL Kiran Vagadia
for supporting and assisting me all the time during the 5 day exhibition.

I am optimistic to see the next generation taking keen interest in Amateur Radio & Satellites from VU Land.

[ANS thanks Rajesh Vagadia, VU2EXP, for the above information]

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ISS Dodges Commercial Imaging Satellite

The International Space Station adjusted its orbit March 6 to avoid a close approach by an imaging satellite operated by Satellogic, the latest
evidence of growing congestion in low Earth orbit.

NASA said in a March 6 blog post that the Progress MS-22 spacecraft docked
to the station fired its thrusters for a little more than six minutes,
raising the station’s orbit to move out of the way of what the agen
cy
called an Earth observation satellite. According to Roscosmos, the
maneuver, lasting 375.8 seconds, changed the station’s velocity by
0.7
meters per second.

NASA spokesperson Sandra Jones told SpaceNews March 7 that the spacecraft
would have approached within about 2.7 kilometers of the station without
the maneuver. She did not identify the satellite involved in the close
approach to the station other than an “Argentine earth observation
satellite launched in 2020.” Other sources said the satellite was N
uSat-17,
also called NewSat-17, one of 10 satellites launched in November 2020 by Satellogic, headquartered in Buenos Aires.

A Satellogic spokesperson said late March 7 it received a conjunction data message, or CDM, from the 18th Space Defense Squadron, the Space Force unit that handles space situational awareness activities, about this close
approach.

The orbit of NewSat-17 and the other nine satellites launched in 2020 have
been gradually decaying, and are now crossing the orbital altitude of the
ISS. That is an increasing concern for ISS operations as it and other Earth observation satellites typically operate in higher sun-synchronous orbits
that will decay if not actively deorbited at the end of the missions.

The March 6 maneuver, NASA said, will not affect upcoming spacecraft going
to and from the station. However, amateurs using the ARISS repeaters will
want to be sure to have updated Keplerian elements that take the new orbit
into account.

[ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information]

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Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff
from our Zazzle store!
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear

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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for [date]

Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps
in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin
files are updated Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if
new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/

{This spot for changes to TLEs when applicable. Can be eliminated or
replaced if none.}
{Do note that our Manual of Style specifies that we ALWAYS use first & last names, callsign separated by commas, and then the title of the AMSAT
officer, if any. See example below. Same style applies to persons
referenced in story bodies, as well as in attributions.}

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information]

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Crew 5 Hams to Splashdown Sunday

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 02:19 UTC Sunday (9:19 p.m. EST Saturday
evening) for a splashdown that will wrap up a nearly six-month science
mission for NASA astronauts Josh A. Cassada, KI5CRH, Nicole Aunapu Mann,
JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina.

The return and related activities will air live on NASA Television, the
NASA app, and the agency’s website at: https://www.nasa.gov/live

Following conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA coverage of Crew-5�
�s
return will continue with audio only, and full coverage will resume at the start of the splashdown broadcast. Real-time audio between Crew-5 and
flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Audio stream will remain avail
able and
includes conversations with astronauts aboard the International Space
Station and a live video feed from the orbiting laboratory.

The Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance by the agency’s SpaceX Crew-
3
astronauts on its maiden voyage, will autonomously undock, depart the space station, and splash down Saturday at one of seven targeted landing zones in
the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. The
spacecraft also will return time-sensitive research to Earth.

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]

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ARISS NEWS

Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between
amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with
astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The
downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.

RECENTLY COMPLETED:
Jumeirah College Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, telebridge via VK4KHZ.
The ISS callsign was NA1SS. The ARISS mentor was Ferrario Gianpietro,
IZ2GOJ. Contact was successful: Tue 2023-03-07 08:45:03 UTC 27 degrees elevation. Congratulations to the Jumeirah College Dubai students, Sultan AlNeyadi KI5VTV, telebridge station VK4KHZ, and mentor IZ2GOJ! This was the first ARISS contact for Sultan AlNeyadi, KI5VTV.

The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html

The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors
for the above information]

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Upcoming Satellite Operations

David Bartholomew, AD7DB, will activate FM satellites from DM31 on
Saturday, March 18. He may also pop up in DM23 and or DM22 on March 17 and March 19. Follow him on Twitter for updates @ad7db.

If YOU know of anything that should be here, please submit any additions or corrections to k5zm (at) comcast (dot) net.

[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information]

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Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.

+ 2023 CubeSat Developer’s Workshop
April 24-27, 2023
California Polytechnic State University
1 Grand Avenue, San Luis Obispo, California 93407
https://www.cubesatdw.org/

+ AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, has a Zoom presentation scheduled with Thames Valley ARC, England on May 11, 2023.

Think a 90-minute lively, informative, and fun “How to Work the Eas
y
Satellites” Zoom presentation would be appropriate for your convent
ion or
club? Always included are overviews of the ARRL, AMSAT, and ARISS. And pre-presentation questions are welcome. Contact Clint Bradford, K6LCS, at https://www.work-sat.com/

[ANS thanks the AMSAT Events page for the above information]

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Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ NASA and SpaceX are targeting 23:30 UTC Tuesday, March 14, to launch the company’s 27th commercial resupply mission to the International Spa
ce
Station. Liftoff will be from Launch Complex 39A at the NASA’s Kenn
edy
Space Center in Florida. Launch timing is dependent upon the undocking and return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5. Live launch coverage will air on NA
SA
Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website at: https://www.nasa.gov/live (ANS thanks NASA for the above information)

+ The White House is proposing a $27.2 billion budget for NASA in fiscal
year 2024 that would include increased funding for Artemis and starting
work on a tug to deorbit the International Space Station. The Biden administration’s budget framework, released March 9, proposed incre
asing
NASA’s budget by 7% from the nearly $25.4 billion the agency receiv
ed in
fiscal year 2023, roughly keeping pace with inflation. (ANS thanks
SpaceNews for the above information)

+ China has been dropping hints about its Long March 9 (CZ-9) rocket, a three-stage super-heavy variant of the Long March family. This launch
vehicle will reportedly be capable of transporting up to 150,000 kg (16.5
tons) to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 54,000 kg (59.5 tons) to a trans-lunar injection. On March 2nd, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology
(CALT) announced (via the Chinese social media platform Weixin) that it had finished building the first propellant tank for the CZ-9. (ANS thanks
Universe Today for the above information)

+ After a decade in development, JAXA & Mitsubishi Heavy Industries�
�
medium-lift H3 rocket, an upgraded and lower cost (around $50M vs $90M per launch) version of their H2-A launch vehicle, finally took off.
Unfortunately, second-stage ignition failed and flight controllers were
forced to terminate the mission. The self-destruct sequence took JAXA�
�s
ALOS-3 along with it -- a high-resolution optical Earth Observation
satellite which would have had a ground resolution of 0.8 m. (ANS thanks
The Orbital Index for the above information)

+ The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking U.S.education institutions and organizations to host an Amateur
Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS in the first half of
2024. The deadline to submit a proposal is March 31st, 2023. See https://www.ariss.org/ for details. (ANS thanks ARISS for the above information)

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Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

* Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
* 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 student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary
years in this status.
* Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.

Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

This week's ANS Editor, Mark Johns, KØJM
k0jm [at] amsat.org


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