ANS-204 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-204

ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS 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.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor@amsat.org

In this edition:
* UK Olympics Special Events Satellite Operations Commence This Week
* AMSAT Board of Directors 2012 Ballots in the Mail
* AMSAT Commemorative Shirt Available for the Symposium
* AMSAT and ARISS Support Moon Day 2012 at Dallas Love Field Air Museum
* Three Hams Arrive + Three Hams Aboard = Six Hams Aboard ISS
* NASA JPL Explore Mars: Curiosity 3-D Interactive Experience
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* ARISS Status - 16 July 2012


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-204.01
ANS-204 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 204.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
July 22, 2012
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-204.01

UK Olympics Special Events Satellite Operations Commence This Week
​

With the "London 2012 Olympics" official opening taking place during the next week, this is a reminder of the previously posted information about the "Amateur Radio Flagship Event Stations" that will be operating beginning Wednesday July 25 until the Games close on September 9.

The London station 2O12L (two-oscar-one-two-London) and the station in Wales (two-oscar-one-two-Wales) will be operating on amateur HF and VHF/UHF bands during the event.

The Barry Amateur Radio Society in Wales, subject to operator availability and suitable passes, will endeavor to make contacts via the amateur radio satellites as well of course as the HF bands.

The London area has a restriction imposed on VHF/UHF activation which will limit personal operations on the satellites. Outside the restricted zone however there maybe other amateur radio operators who may be active, not as "flagship stations" but using a personal or club call sign under a notice of variation.

Barry Amateur Radio Society in Wales looks forward to making as many contacts as possible for this rare opportunity. We take this as an opportunity to wish all those participating in the Olympic Games and amateur radio operators world wide "Good Luck".

[ANS thanks Ken Eaton, GW1FKY and the Barry Amateur Radio Society, Wales, UK for the above information]

AMSAT Board of Directors 2012 Ballots in the Mail
​

Ballots for the 2012 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors election have been mailed to all members. Also included is biographical information about each of the candidates.

Select no more than three of the six listed candidates (in alphabetitcal 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]

AMSAT Commemorative Shirt Available for the Symposium
​

AMSAT offers you the chance to have the coolest ham shirt of the year as we announce the special commemorative shirt for the 2012 Symposium. The polo shirt is ultramarine blue, silk touch 5-ounce 65/35 poly/cotton pique fabric (ask the XYL what this means) in men's and ladies' styles.

The men's shirt is available in sizes XS to 6X, with a pocket on the left side:

• XS - XL ... $20
• 2X - 3X ... $23
• 4X - 6X ... $28

The ladies' shirt is available in sizes XS to 6X, no pocket:

• XS - XL ... $18
• 2X - 3X ... $21
• 4X - 6X ... $26

The Symposium logo (AMSAT Fox) is embroidered on the left side of the men's and ladies' shirts. You can optionally add up to 2 lines of your callsign/name embroidered on the right side of the shirt for $5 per shirt.

Shirts must be ordered by mail with the order form sent with the AMSAT ballots.

[ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information]

AMSAT and ARISS Support Moon Day 2012 at Dallas Love Field Air Museum
​

Moon Day 2012 was held on July 21 at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field in Dallas, Texas to commemorate Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon. The event featured space exhibits, demonstrations and other space activities. AMSAT and ARISS were represented as they showed amateur radio satellites including a model of the Fox-1 satellite. This was an opportunity to promote the ARISS program also.

The purpose of Moon Day is to celebrate this astounding achievement of humankind by bringing together local and national organizations into one place where the public can walk and talk with the people and the groups who are on the frontlines of space exploration, along with space and astronomy advocates, hobbyists, and educators.

More information about the event was posted at:
http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/event-view.cfm?Event_ID=37613

The Frontiers of Flight Museum web page can be found at:
http://www.flightmuseum.com/

You can re-live the Apollo 11 launch on July 16, 1969 with this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CAN2WsDVt8&feature=player_embedded

[ANS thanks AMSAT and ARISS for the above information]

Three Hams Arrive + Three Hams Aboard = Six Hams Aboard ISS
​

Three hams arrived at the International Space Station on July 17 when the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft docked and the hatches opened on the 37th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz docking.

Expedition 32 crew members NASA astronaut Suni Williams KD5PLB, cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko RK3DUP and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide KE5DNI joined with Expedition 31's NASA astronaut Joe Acaba KE5DAR and cosmonauts Gennady Padalka RN3DT and Sergei Revin RN3BS to bring the crew complement up to six.

Video of the hatch opening, welcome aboard, and the press conference from the ISS have been posted at: http://tinyurl.com/Soyuz-Arrival (UniverseToday.com)

Padalka, Acaba and Revin will be on board until September 17th, and the newest crew will stay until November 12, 2012.

[ANS thanks NASA and UniverseToday.com for the above information]

NASA JPL Explore Mars: Curiosity 3-D Interactive Experience
​

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California invites you to prepare for the arrival of the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity on August 6. JPL has developed a new 3-D interactive experience which will allow you to follow along with Curiosity's discoveries on Mars.

The beta version of "Explore Mars: Curiosity", a new 3-D interactive experience is available online at NASA.gov.

When you first access this site you will be asked to download the Unity application which loads seamlessly with your web browser. Once started you will receive high-resolution terrain maps of Gale Crater, Curiosity's landing site, collected from Mars orbiters. A 3-D "virtual rover" version of Curiosity will follow the path of the real rover as it makes discoveries.

JPL advises interested Mars fans to download the Unity game environment and test drive the rover early to reduce potential download delays as global interest peaks during the August landing events.

Also available on the JPL Mars Science Laboratory web site is the Mars Rover Landing immersive experience for the Xbox 360. You will able to take control of your own spacecraft using Kinect and face the extreme challenges of landing a rover on Mars. More details are available on the web site.

MarsDaily.com has a related article: http://tinyurl.com/MarsDaily

[ANS thanks NASA JPL and MarsDaily.com for the above information]

Satellite Shorts From All Over
​

• + Listen for special event station N8M operating from the Henry Ford/Greenfield Village (Detroit) Maker Faire July 28-29. They will be operating on all bands, all modes including satellite and 6 meters. Satellite operation will be active on all modes on as many passes as possible. QSL info can be located on the Ford Amateur Radio League website. (via John, N8NWA)
• + Listen for Canadian special event station CG3B operating from FN03 on the satellites. The special event commemorates 200 years of friendship between Canada and the US (after the War of 1812). More information is posted on the callsign page on QRZ.com. You can QSL via VE3FOI and your QSL will be mailed to you a special issue 1812 Canadian stamp. The event is sponsored by the Niagara Peninsula Amateur Radio Club (via John, K8YSE)
• + The ARRL posted audio and video of the July 12 interview with ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane K1SFA and Astronaut Don Pettit, KD5MDT. The video and transcript is posted on the ARRL web.
• + The August QST Magazine features activities by amateur satellite operators. On page 20 you will find coverage of the SSTV contact via ARISSat-1 by Farrell Winder, W8ZCF, and Jeff Winder, KB8VCO. On page 63 "Long Haul Radio" discusses amateur radio operation from an 18-wheeler including mention of packet via ISS by John McLendon, AB8JL. Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, well known to satellite operators, has an article on page 41, "Rethinking Electrical Power for the Ham."
• + As a friendly reminder, we are approaching the deadline for article submissions for the next issue of the AMSAT Journal. Please finish your articles and submit them to journal@amsat.org by July 23.
• + Watch the inspirational video, The Audacity to Dream on-line. The description reads, "Making its debut at the TEDxISU (International Space University) event on July 6, the video above is an inspirational call-to-arms for anyone who's ever looked to the stars and dreamed of a day when the sky was, in fact, not the limit.
• + A new schedule was uploaded to AO-27 on July 4th. Users of the Java AO-27 Satellite Schedule Lister should make sure that you have downloaded the latest data files. (George, KA3HSW)

[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]

ARISS Status - 16 July 2012
​

1. Upcoming School Contact
ESA Space Camp, which is being held at St. Columba’s College, Whitechurch, Dublin, Ireland, has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Sunday, July 22 at 17:25 UTC via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The ARISS contact is part of an educational program of which some activities are based around André Kuipers’ mission, Spaceship Earth. Children at the camp will have 2 weeks of space education covering the themes of Climate, Biodiversity and the Human Body as well as Earth Observation and the Solar System. The children will also receive lessons about how tocommunicate with the crew on the ISS from a ham radio expert.

2. ARISS Contact with Women in STEM
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held with Women in STEM High School Aerospace Scholars in Houston, Texas on Tuesday, July 10 via telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The high school girls came from across the U.S. to participate in the program which provided them the opportunity to plan a space exploration mission and to learn from women that work at NASA. Joe Acaba, KE5DAR on ISS answered 23 questions during the Q&A session. Approximately 150 students and guests were present for the event. Video is available (YouTube.com)

3. Expedition 30/31Crew Scheduled for Debrief
Astronauts Don Pettit and André Kuipers (Expedition 30/31) will take part in a debrief session to give feedback on the ARISS program. The debrief is currently scheduled for August 15.

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]

/EX

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional 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 student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information.

73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS
ku4os at amsat dot org