ANS-336 AMSAT Information Service Weekly Bulletins – AMSAT

On this version:

• AMSAT OSCAR-7 fiftieth Anniversary: CodeStore Breaking New Floor




• GridMasterMap Satellite tv for pc High 100 Rovers December 2024 Rankings




• Japan Launches World’s First Picket Satellite tv for pc to Take a look at Timber in Area




• Open-Climate APT: Updates to the Internet Primarily based NOAA APT Picture Decoder




• ARISS Information




• Upcoming Satellite tv for pc Operations




• AMSAT Ambassador Actions




• Satellite tv for pc Shorts From All Over

The AMSAT Information Service bulletins are a free, weekly information and data service of AMSAT, the Radio Novice Satellite tv for pc Company. ANS publishes information associated to Novice Radio in Area together with reviews on the actions of a worldwide group of Novice Radio operators who share an lively curiosity in designing, constructing, launching and speaking by analog and digital Novice Radio satellites.

The information feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes information of Novice Radio in Area as quickly as our volunteers can publish it.

Please ship any novice satellite tv for pc information or reviews to: ans-editor [at] amsat [dot] org.

You may join free e-mail supply of the AMSAT Information Service Bulletins through the ANS Checklist; to hitch this checklist see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/

ANS-336 AMSAT Information Service Weekly Bulletins

To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Novice Satellite tv for pc Company
712 H Avenue NE, Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002

DATE 2024 Dec 01

AMSAT OSCAR-7 fiftieth Anniversary: CodeStore Breaking New Floor

There has at all times been a fascination amongst radio amateurs in digital modes of communications. In desirous about the place this spacecraft sits in digital historical past, it’s all too simple to overlook that it was designed no less than three years earlier than the looks of the primary 8-bit microprocessor. The notion of packet communications was nonetheless practically 10 years into the long run. The workforce needed to display that they may retailer knowledge at-will on a spacecraft in transit throughout the sky after which obtain it at one other location. They needed to display non-real-time digital communications to themselves and to the world.

Jan King, W3GEY, AMSAT OSCAR-7 Undertaking Supervisor explains, “Considering on reflection, that experiment wasn’t the very best it may have been. Nevertheless, it was easy and it proved our resolve. The entry in 1972 on AO-6 and, then once more, in 1974 on-board AO-7 was an indication experiment we known as CodeStore. And, it did result in much more bold packetized, store-and-forward knowledge satellites in our future.

“It most likely wasn’t your best option on the time, however we selected the command frequency for the uplink. This meant we didn’t must implement yet one more receiver. Nevertheless, this made the experiment far much less accessible to hams than it may have. AMSAT didn’t need to share the data of the command frequency and codes with anybody who didn’t have a have to know them. Thus, CodeStore was not an experiment that was shared with everybody as have been the communications transponders. It may realistically solely be utilized by licensed command stations. We had hoped for a common store-and-forward demonstration, however what was in actual fact created was a broadcast device and in that regard CodeStore was very profitable.”

CodeStore was the brainchild of and was designed and fabricated by John Goode, W5CAY. In a single small module, he housed an AFSK decoding system, which allowed uplink knowledge to be clocked right into a “lengthy” shift register containing 896 bits. This was completed with the reminiscence IC’s of the day. What one may handle then was 14 IC’s every containing 64 bits of serial knowledge storage. The contents of the shift register was sequentially downlinked first-in-first-out (FIFO) to the chosen beacon when CodeStore was commanded to the RUN mode.

This variety of bits is divisible by 8 so one may need anticipated {that a} downlinked message of 112 8-bit phrases. No, this was 1974 so Morse Code messages have been downlinked. The concept was extra people can copy a broadcast message in the event that they don’t want specialised decoding gear. King provides, “Nobody can deny that we may have made a greater go of it if the notion of a distant terminal digital communications purpose had remained pure. It didn’t.”

“Finally, its highest worth was found to be to retailer the spacecraft’s NORAD TLEs in addition to any important AO-7 working schedule modifications, which is likely to be of significance to the customers. CodeStore was already out there to be used on AO-6. So, customers have been already anticipating this function, which appeared frequently on the beacons.”

Whereas CodeStore was used on each AO-6 and AO-7 to display non-real-time communications through satellite tv for pc, it was by no means utilized by impartial remotely situated stations to display two-way communications in that means. The reminiscence amenities required on-board and the dearth of any firmware that even approached the capabilities of a file dealing with system didn’t exist in 1972-74. That must wait for one more day when, as soon as once more, 4 AMSAT spacecraft in a small constellation would display a correct store-and-forward packet dealing with system. That was to happen in 1990.

CodeStore went into service as a broadcast system permitting customers to obtain, in Morse Code, the most recent, (then) NORAD TLEs. CodeStore was a whole success. It saved command stations an incredible quantity of labor, avoiding the necessity for a world community of operators who would in any other case be wanted to relay the identical knowledge.

Individuals eager to learn extra in regards to the life and historical past of AMSAT OSCAR-7 are invited to go to https://www.amsat.org/amsat-ao-7-a-fifty-year-anniversary/.

[ANS thanks Jan King, W3GEY, AMSAT OSCAR-7 Project Manager for the above information.]

GridMasterMap Satellite tv for pc High 100 Rovers December 2024 Rankings

The December 2024 rankings for the High 100 Rovers (Combined LEO/MEO/GEO) in satellite tv for pc operations, as decided by @GridMasterMap on Twitter, has been launched. The rating is decided by the variety of grids and DXCC entities activated, taking into consideration solely these grids the place a minimal variety of QSO’s logged on the gridmaster.fr web site have been validated by a 3rd celebration. Grid numbers don’t immediately replicate the precise variety of activations. Satellite tv for pc operators are inspired to add their LoTW satellite tv for pc contacts to https://gridmaster.fr with the intention to present extra correct knowledge.

Up to date: 2024-11-29

[ANS thanks @GridMasterMap for the above information.]

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Japan Launches World’s First Picket Satellite tv for pc to Take a look at Timber in Area

Japanese researchers launched the world’s first picket satellite tv for pc, LignoSat, into house, marking an bold step towards exploring the viability of timber for lunar and Martian building. This pioneering satellite tv for pc, developed collaboratively by Kyoto College and Sumitomo Forestry, was despatched to the Worldwide Area Station aboard a SpaceX mission from NASA’s Kennedy Area Middle on November 4, 2024. As soon as on the ISS, LignoSat might be launched into orbit roughly 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth.

LignoSat, a 1U-sized CubeSat, carries an Novice Radio mission that may extract callsigns from the FM packet knowledge indicators uplinked, and reply to them through the use of the CW downlink with their name indicators.

An academic mission is to coach college students to study in regards to the traits of the satellite tv for pc by buying its housekeeping knowledge reminiscent of the interior temperature, the pressure of the picket construction, and the Earth’s magnetic discipline and calculating the rotational course and price of the satellite tv for pc in addition to observing the impact of the house setting on the picket construction.

The satellite tv for pc, whose identify derives from the Latin phrase for “wooden,” is a compact, palm-sized construction. LignoSat’s mission is to display the potential of wooden as a sustainable and sturdy materials for house exploration. Takao Doi, a former astronaut and a present researcher at Kyoto College, expressed that utilizing timber may pave the best way for setting up habitats that assist human life and work in house indefinitely. “With timber, a cloth we will produce by ourselves, we can construct homes, stay, and work in house ceaselessly,” Doi mentioned.

Doi’s workforce is working beneath a 50-year imaginative and prescient of constructing timber buildings on the Moon and Mars, planting the seeds for future space-based infrastructure. The researchers opted for Honoki, a sort of magnolia tree native to Japan historically used for sword sheaths, after conducting a 10-month experiment on the ISS. Honoki proved its resilience, resulting in its choice because the core materials for LignoSat. The satellite tv for pc was constructed utilizing a standard Japanese craft method with out screws or glue, showcasing innovation steeped in heritage.

One in every of LignoSat’s key roles in its six-month orbit might be to measure the endurance of wooden in opposition to excessive house temperatures, which oscillate from -100 to 100 levels Celsius (-148 to 212 levels Fahrenheit) each 45 minutes because the satellite tv for pc shifts from daylight to darkness. The onboard sensors may also monitor how nicely wooden mitigates house radiation’s impression on semiconductors, data that may very well be pivotal for designing knowledge facilities and different space-based buildings. Kenji Kariya of Sumitomo Forestry emphasised the cutting-edge nature of this analysis, noting that regardless of showing old style, wooden may very well be integral to future house expertise.

The environmental advantages of utilizing wooden in house are vital. In contrast to typical metallic satellites that produce polluting aluminum oxide particles upon re-entry, picket satellites would disintegrate extra cleanly in Earth’s environment. “A picket satellite tv for pc burns up with a lot much less air pollution in comparison with metallic ones,” Doi said. This function may very well be a bonus because the house trade grapples with sustainability and the proliferation of house particles.

The workforce behind LignoSat is optimistic that their experiment may spur wider adoption of timber in house exploration. Doi even hinted on the potential for future partnerships, saying, “If we will show our first picket satellite tv for pc works, we need to pitch it to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.” The profitable deployment of LignoSat may mark the start of a brand new period the place conventional supplies meet superior house expertise, reinvigorating the timber trade and pushing the boundaries of sustainable innovation in house exploration.

A downlink on 435.820 MHz has been coordinated for CW, 4k8 GMSK AX25 telemetry and FM. Extra information at https://house.innovationkyoto.org/amateur-radio-operators/

[ANS thanks Kantaro Komiya and Irene Wang, Reuters, for the above information.]

Open-Climate APT: Updates to the Internet Primarily based NOAA APT Picture Decoder

Dr. Sasha Engelmann and Sophie Dyer, the workforce behind the Open-Climate venture have lately introduced the launch of their new model of open-weather app, a web-based NOAA APT picture decoder. The net-based program accepts a WAV file containing a NOAA satellite tv for pc APT recording, demodulates and decodes it, and shows the ensuing climate satellite tv for pc picture.

Sasha writes, “…Open-weather apt is the one public, maintained, browser-based decoder for Automated Image Transmissions (APT) from satellites NOAA-19, NOAA-18 and NOAA-15. It was developed to enhance entry to satellite tv for pc sign decoding for all practitioners.

“We’re excited to share a brand new and improved model out there right here! The brand new model contains the next updates and extra options:

Improved accuracy in decoding and discovering sync positions (locates extra sync positions than different comparable decoders)
Add a WAV file of any pattern price (no extra re-sampling with Audacity!)
Choice to see the ‘uncooked’ picture with out syncing, and to ‘Discover the Syncs’
Choice to Rotate 180 levels, usually helpful for viewing pictures from nighttime passes
Go deeper in your evaluation: discover Sign Worth and Picture Worth Histograms
Add immediately from open-weather apt to the Public Archive

“Open-weather apt is co-developed by open-weather with Rectangle (Lizzie Malcolm and Dan Powers), Invoice Liles (NQ6Z) and Grayson Earle.”

Full data at https://open-weather.group/decode/.

[ANS thanks RTL-SDR.com for the above information.]

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Adjustments to AMSAT TLE Distribution for November 29, 2024

Two Line Components or TLEs, also known as Keplerian parts or keps within the novice group, are the inputs to the SGP4 customary mathematical mannequin of spacecraft orbits utilized by most novice monitoring packages. Weekly updates are fully enough for many novice satellites. TLE bulletin information are up to date day by day within the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin information might be posted instantly after dependable parts change into out there for brand new novice satellites. Extra data could also be discovered at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/.

The next satellite tv for pc has been added to this week’s AMSAT TLE distribution:

AO-123 Provisional catalog quantity 99130 IARU coordinated downlink 435.4000 MHz.

[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information.]

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ARISS NEWS

Amateurs and others around the globe might eavesdrop on contacts between amateurs working in colleges and permitting college students to work together with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the Worldwide Area Station. The downlink frequency on which to hear is 145.800 MHz worldwide.

Upcoming Contacts

South Carolina RWAs (Regional Workforce Advisors), Columbia, SC, direct through N4EE.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS.
The scheduled crewmember is Nick Hague, KG5TMV.
The ARISS mentor is Don Hopson, K4CF.
Contact is go for Monday, December 2, 2024 at 16:22 UTC.
Look ahead to Livestream at https://dew.sc.gov/.

Simferopol Faculty of Radio Electronics, Simferopol, Russia, direct through TBD.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS.
The scheduled crewmember is Ivan Vagner.
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR .
Contact is go for Monday, December 2, 2024 at 15:15 UTC.

CEIP INDAUTXUKO ESKOLA HLHI, Bilbao, Spain, telebridge through ON4ISS.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS.
The scheduled crewmember is Sunita Williams, KD5PLB.
The ARISS mentor is Marcelo Teruel, IK0USO.
Contact is go for: Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 11:47 UTC.

State Budgetary Academic Establishment “Vorobyovy Gory”, Moscow, Russia, direct through TBD.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS.
The scheduled crewmember is Alexander Gorbunov.
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR.
Contact is go for Thursday, December 5, 2024 at 11:00 UTC.

Shchyolkovo, Russia, direct through TBD.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS.
The scheduled crewmember is Aleksey Ovchinin.
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR.
Contact is go for Friday, December 6, 2024 at 10:10 UTC.

Publiczna Szkola Podstawowa im. Walentego Stefanskiego w Bodzechowie, Bodzechow, Poland, direct through SP7POS.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS.
The scheduled crewmember is Don Pettit, KD5MDT.
The ARISS mentor is Armand Budzianowski, SP3QFE.
Contact is go for Friday, December 6, 2024 at 11:49 UTC.

Accomplished Contacts

Colegio do Castanheiro, Ponta Delgada, Azores, direct through CQ8CDC.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS.
The scheduled crewmember is Don Pettit, KD5MDT.
The ARISS mentor is Marcelo Teruel,IK0USO.
Contact was profitable on Tuesday, November 26, 2024 at 14:57 UTC.

The crossband repeater continues to be lively (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they must do is decide up the microphone, elevate the amount up, and speak on the crossband repeater. So give a hear, you simply by no means know.

The packet system can be lively (145.825 MHz up & down).

As at all times, if there’s an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as a part of the protection protocol.

Notice, all instances are approximate. It is strongly recommended that you simply do your personal orbital prediction or begin listening about 10 minutes earlier than the listed time.

The newest data on the operation mode may be discovered at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html

The newest checklist of frequencies in use may be discovered 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.]

Upcoming Satellite tv for pc Operations

• ADØHJ is planning his final 2024 rove to the Missouri Ozarks space between December 5-8, 2024. Mitch has by no means been to that space so he’s seeking to do some sightseeing and activate eight new satellite tv for pc grid squares. EM26-EM28, EM36-EM39, and EN30. He might be working RS-44 passes within the evenings. See https://hams.at for particulars.

A rising variety of satellite tv for pc rovers are presently engaged in sharing their grid sq. activations on https://hams.at. By visiting the web site, you acquire quick access to complete details about the operators liable for activating particular grid squares. Moreover, you’ve gotten the flexibility to evaluate the match rating between your self and a selected rover for a given go, whereas additionally with the ability to establish the upcoming satellite tv for pc passes which are accessible out of your location.

[ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT Rover Page Manager, and Alex Ners, K6VHF, for the above information.]

AMSAT Ambassador Actions

AMSAT Ambassadors present displays, display speaking by novice satellites, and host data tables at membership conferences, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and different occasions.

December 19, 2024
Central Kentucky Novice Radio Society
CKARS Month-to-month Assembly
558 S Keeneland Dr.
Richmond, KY 40475
https://www.ckars.org/dwelling
AI4SR

February 14-15, 2025
Yuma HAMCON and Southwestern Division Conference
Yuma County Fairgrounds
Yuma, AZ
https://www.yumahamfest.com/
N1UW

Concerned about changing into an AMSAT Ambassador? AMSAT Ambassadors present displays, display speaking by novice satellites, and host data tables at membership conferences, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and different occasions.

For extra data go to: https://www.amsat.org/ambassador/

[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director – AMSAT Ambassador Program for the above information.]

Satellite tv for pc Shorts From All Over

• NASA has confirmed that considered one of its biggest ever missions, Voyager 1, is again in enterprise with communications restored following an incident in October that had led to the veteran spacefarer shedding its voice. When engineers commanded Voyager 1 to modify on considered one of its heaters to present the devices a delicate thermal therapeutic massage, a security function was tripped due to low energy ranges. It robotically switched off non-essential methods. The fault safety system took it upon itself to modify off the principle X-band transmitter and activate the lower-power S-band transmitter as a substitute. Due to the good distance between Voyager 1 and Earth, nonetheless, transmissions on the S-band antenna couldn’t be heard by NASA’s Deep Area Community, that means that Voyager 1 had successfully fallen silent. NASA engineers have been capable of resolve the issue early in November, and X-band communication resumed on Nov. 18, with the spacecraft as soon as once more returning knowledge from its 4 remaining devices. Learn the entire story at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-336-Voyager-1. [ANS thanks Space.com for the above information.]




• Along with all of the AMSAT OSCAR-7 publicity within the information this few weeks, AMSAT additionally obtained good publicity in regards to the ARISS program placing youngsters involved with astronauts. Learn the entire story at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-336-ISS. [ANS thanks Space.com for the above information.]

Along with common membership, AMSAT presents membership to:

• Societies (a acknowledged group, golf equipment or group).




• Main and secondary faculty college students are eligible for membership at one-half the usual yearly price.




• Submit-secondary faculty college students enrolled in no less than half time standing shall be eligible for the coed price for a most of 6 post-secondary years on this standing.




• Memberships can be found for annual and lifelong phrases.

Contact information [at] amsat [dot] org for added membership data.

73 and keep in mind to assist Maintain Novice Radio in Area!

This week’s ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
f.karnauskas [at] amsat [dot] org