AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-038

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:

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In this edition:

* RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E Is Designated AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109)
* SN9 Starship Test Launch: Otherwise successful test ends in a fireball
* CAPE-3 Updates and iGate Request
* First QO-100 satellite contact from Indonesia
* ARISS Call for Proposals: Contacts for January to June 2022
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 4, 2021
* ARISS News
* Upcoming Satellite Operations
* Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
* Satellite Shorts From All Over


ANS-038 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 038.01
To: All RADIO AMATEURS
From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
712 H Street NE Suite 1653
Washington, DC 20002

DATE 2021 Feb 07

RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E Is Designated AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109)

On January 17, 2021, the RadFxSat-2 cubesat was launched on a LauncherOne
vehicle off the coast of California. RadFxSat-2 is a joint mission of AMSAT
and the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics at Vanderbilt
University. The satellite carries a telemetry beacon and a linear
transponder, along with radiation effects experiments. The telemetry beacon
has not yet been heard, but the transponder is partially operational at
reduced signal strength. Work continues to recover the telemetry beacon and
characterize the transponder with the goal of opening it for general use.
AMSAT hereby designates RadFxSat-2 as AMSAT-OSCAR 109 (AO-109).

Testing and characterization of RadFxSat-2/AO-109 continues. After user
reports and additional verification that the linear transponder is at least
partially functioning with a low level downlink signal, the Engineering and
Operations teams made the official designation. Of the several objects have
been suspected (D, C, and M), with Object C being suggested recently by Drew
Glasbrenner, KO4MA. Recently, these satellites have sufficiently spread
apart to allow testing to determine which object is RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E.

During the 2 Feb 2021 0240 UTC passes, command station Mark Hammond, N8MH,
compared Objects D, C, and M for the "best fit" for received signals with
Doppler correction on both the uplink and downlink frequencies for each of
the candidate objects. Objects D and M were quickly eliminated from further
consideration, due to poor frequency predictions of Doppler correction
compared to observed signals. The clear best fit is Object C, which is known
OBJECT C, INTELDES 2021-002C, and NORAD CAT ID 47311. Therefore, AMSAT is
happy to identify Object C/2021-002C/47311U as RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E and make
the designation AO-109. Thanks to Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, for support during
the identification.

The Engineering and Operations teams appreciate the community's cooperation
thus far and affirm the request that users do not attempt to use the
transponder until further notice. The proper identification will allow
further characterization of the satellite's condition through additional
testing.

(ANS thanks Mark L. Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Director and the Engineering and
Operations Team for the above information)

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Join the 2021 President's Club!
Score your 2" 4-Color Accent Commemorative Coin.
This gold finished coin comes with
Full Color Certificate and Embroidered "Remove Before Flight" Key Tag
Donate today at
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
You won't want to miss it!
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Another Starship Test Launch: SN9 test ends in a fireball

On Tuesday, February 2, Starship serial number 9 (SN9) completed SpaceX's
second high-altitude flight test of a Starship prototype from our site in
Cameron County, Texas.

Similar to the high-altitude flight test of Starship serial number 8 (SN8),
SN9 was powered through ascent by three Raptor engines, each shutting down
in sequence prior to the vehicle reaching apogee - approximately 10
kilometers in altitude. SN9 successfully performed a propellant transition
to the internal header tanks, which hold landing propellant, before
reorienting itself for reentry and a controlled aerodynamic descent.

During the landing flip maneuver, one of the Raptor engines did not relight
and caused SN9 to land at high speed and experience a RUD.

The full description and a video of the test launch may be found at:
https://bit.ly/3avfkPC

[ANS thanks SpaceX Public Relations for the above information]

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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office
is closed until further notice. For details, please visit
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-c...urther-notice/

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CAPE-3 Updates and iGate Request

Rizwan Merchant, KF5BNL, reports: "It seems CAPE-3 is indeed healthy in
orbit. Our power system seems to be working as intended and UHF transmitters
seem healthy. However, we're suspecting the VHF radio is dead on arrival.
We've not seen any indication of it functioning in orbit, which aligns with
a fear we had prior to integration.

The CAPE-3 team is devising plans to begin testing individual subsystems on
the satellite to gauge the health of those. This might take a few more weeks
to validate and provide an update on what capabilities we can still carry
out, as we update our ground systems."

Additional updated information on CAPE-3 may be found at:
https://bit.ly/2O6t1Nj

Rizwan continues: "If anyone is able to switch their iGates, or make a UHF
iGate to help track CAPE-3 email packets, we'd be really grateful for the
help! We've turned on one at our University as well.
1.) We are expecting UHF APRS on 437.325, the same as what our FSK and AX.25
packets are coming across on.
2.) From what I can tell, our NORAD ID is 47309.
3.) Currently we are having some issues commanding CAPE-3 from our
University lab, so once we are able to transmit commands, we'll be able to
set the APRS emails to come across more often, and begin experimenting the
tweeting function to see if it works as we intended.

I'd like to thank everyone who's helped so far! We got our first email
packet from W7KKE-13 earlier this evening (approximately 00:45 UTC Saturday,
02/06/2021).

The SatNOGS network is getting packets fairly regularly:
https://network.satnogs.org/observat...wn=0&failed=0&
norad=47309&observer=&station=&start=&end= "

[ANS thanks Riswan Merchant, KF5BN, 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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First QO-100 satellite contact from Indonesia

Indonesia's national amateur radio society, ORARI, reports on the first
contacts from Indonesia via the Qatar-Oscar-100 geostationary satellite
transponder

The contacts took place on Thursday, January 27, 2021. Those involved were
Farid Farhan YC1HVZ, Remco den Besten PA3FYM and Rene Stevens PE1CMO.

ORARI's report says a team from the Telkom University Telecommunication
Engineering Student Association (HMTT) led by Farid Farhan YC1HVZ, succeeded
in conducting the first contact from Bukit Moko (Grid square OI33UD),
Bandung, West Java with a satellite elevation of 0.8 degrees at an altitude
of 1200m+.

Additional information is available at: https://bit.ly/3jgIC8B

[ANS thanks Southgate Amateur Radio News for the above information]

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ARISS Call for Proposals

New Proposal Window is February 15th, 2021 to March 31st, 2021
February 2, 2021 --- The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and
organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio
contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the
contact would be held between January 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022. Crew
scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To
maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for
organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the
contact into a well-developed education plan.

The deadline to submit a proposal is March 31st, 2021. Proposal information
and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and the proposal
form can be found at www.ariss.org. An ARISS Introductory Webinar session
will be held on February 25th, 2021 at 8 PM ET. The Eventbrite link to sign
up is: https://ariss-proposal-webinar-sprin...eventbrite.com

Additional information may be found at https://www.ariss.org/

[ANS thanks David Jordan AA4KN ARISS PR for the above information]

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AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all
begins with GOLF-TEE - a technology demonstrator for deployable solar
panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The
journey will be worth it!

https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF

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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 4, 2021

The NORAD Cat ID for RadFxSat-2 has been updated in this week's AMSAT-NA TLE
Distribution as follows:

RadFxSat-2 - NORAD Cat ID 47311.
Mark Hammond, N8MH, (AMSAT Director and Command Station) has identified
RadFxSat-2 as OBJECT C, NORAD CAT ID 47311. OBJECT C was determined to be
the "best fit" for RadFXSAt-2 and OBJECTS D and M were eliminated as
contenders. RadFxSat-2/Fox1E has been designated AO-109 as reported above.

The following satellites have also been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE
Distribution:

SOMP 2b - NORAD Cat ID 47445.
IDEASSat - NORAD Cat ID 47458.
Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, for these two satellite identifications.

[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, 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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ARISS NEWS

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2021-02-06 04:30 UTC

Sterling MS, Ashburn, VA, multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS (***)
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/current-status...-stations.html
The scheduled astronaut is Shannon Walker KD5DXB (***)
Contact is go for: Tue 2021-02-09 14:44:48 UTC 66 deg (***)

Watch for live stream at https://youtu.be/qVhBweqjCo4 (***)

Red Hill Lutheran, Tustin, CA, telebridge via NA7V (***)
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***)
The downlink frequency is presently scheduled to be 145.800 MHz
The latest information on the operation mode can be found at
https://www.ariss.org/current-status...-stations.html
The scheduled astronaut is Mike Hopkins KF5LJG (***)
Contact is go for: Wed 2021-02-10 18:26:15 UTC 65 deg (***)

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.

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

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AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur
radio package, including two-way communication capability, to
be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit.

Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/

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Upcoming Satellite Operations

Quick Hits:

N6DNM: There will be a quick run at CM88/89 on Sun 7th, and a good chance of
an attempt at CM79 on around Feb 12-13 (if wx holds) . Details will follow.

Major Roves:

CM93 Possibility: N6DNM Very long shot, but might want to put it on your
calendar for May 15th, if you can figure out where it is and for #SOTA
folks, that would be W6/SC-336, Santa Rosa Island, activated only once
before.

JD1BQA activation of Ogasawara: Takio Hata, JH3QFL, plans to activate
Ogasawara (AS-031) from May 1 to 7 as JD1BQA. QRV on 160, 80, 40, and 6m on
FT8/FT4, and via the RS-44 satellite (CW). QSL via JH3QFL (d).
Report(Reported in DXNL 2235 - February 3, 2021 DX Newsletter)

Please submit any additions or corrections to Ke0pbr (at) gmail.com
Updated 02/3/ 2021

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT rover page manager, and JoAnne
Maenpaa, K9JKM for the above information]

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Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events

Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space?
AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through
amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests,
conventions, maker faires, and other events.

AMSAT Ambassador and registered ARRL instructor Clint Bradford K6LCS has a
couple Zoom presentations lined up to begin 2021. In the first week of
February, an "abbreviated" presentation was given to a Southern CA ARES
group. Later in the month, a "normal" show will be presented. There are
up-to-five spots available for you to attend! Just send Clint an email
message for details.

Would a 90-minute informative, personalized-to-your-club, FUN presentation
on working the "easy" satellites would be appropriate for your club? Send
Clint an email message, and let's book a date!
Contact:
Clint Bradford K6LCS
k6lcs at ham-sat dot info
909-999-SATS (7287)

[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, AMSAT Events page manager, for the above
information]

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Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ UVSQSat update

After a successful launch in December, on 2 Feb. 2021, UVSQSat switched mode
from 1200 BPSK(G3RUH) to 9600 BPSK(G3RUH). Frequencies for UVSQSat are
telemetry on 437.02 MHz with callsign LATMOS-1 and the repeater: 145.905 MHz
Uplink, 437.02 MHz Downlink
More information on the UVSQSat mission may be found at:
https://bit.ly/3oOPYRy
(ANS thanks Christophe Mercier of AMSAT Francophone for the above
information).

+ Two astronauts working outside the International Space Station on January
27 installed a European Space Agency data relay antenna and connected four
of six cables to partially power a new ESA experiment platform. But the two
cables they were unable to connect to the Bartolomeo platform will need to
be connected later. Unable to resolve the cable trouble, they capped the two
balky connectors and used tie-downs to hold all the cables in place. (ANS
thanks SpaceFlight Now for the above information)

+ An update to the IC-705 Satellite Memory .CSV file has been posted at the
AMSAT-SE website. Lars, SM0TGU, has fixed a bug in the PO-101 settings and
has added 5 offsets for each of the FM birds. The 5 offset memory settings
should make it easier to track the doppler shift of those satellites if an
operator is in the field. The revised memory settings files are available
at: https://www.amsat.se/2020/11/12/sate...le-for-ic-705/
(ANS thanks Lars Thunberg, SM0TGU of AMSAT-SE for the above information)

+ Twelve bottles of Bordeaux wine and dozens of vine shoots are back at home
in southwest France after spending months on the International Space Station
(ISS) for an unusual astrochemistry experiment. The red wine and 320 mature
shoots known as canes arrived February 1 after their return to Earth via a
Dragon capsule operated by SpaceX. They will be analysed at the Institute of
Vine and Wine Science in Bordeaux to see how the stresses produced by zero
gravity affect both grape growth and the finished product, which could spur
new agricultural research. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above
information)

+ Sixty more SpaceX-owned Starlink internet satellites rocketed through a
moonlit winter sky over Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 launcher early
Thursday, while another Falcon 9 stood on a different launch pad a few miles
away to loft another 60 Starlink payloads Friday. The first stage's landing
punctuated the fifth trip to space and back for this booster, and it broke a
record for the fastest turnaround between flights of a SpaceX booster,
besting the previous mark of 38 days set last month.(ANS thanks SpaceFlight
Now for the above information)

+ Diplomas for the AMICALSAT satellite are being sent out. If you have not
yet requested them, you can do so before 28/02/2021. The request for a
diploma is done by sending an email to indicating your
callsign or the name given in the AMSAT-F database to send the data. (ANS
thanks Christophe Mercier of AMSAT Francophone for the above information)

+ The first private Chinese company to reach orbit met with failure Monday
(Feb. 1) during its second attempt to go to space. iSpace's four-stage
Hyperbola-1 rocket failed after liftoff while attempting to carry the
cubesat-sized Fangzhou-2 (Ark-2) satellite into space. Media reports
indicate the launch attempt happened around 0815z from the Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. (ANS thanks Space.com for the above
information)

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/EX

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to
AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits.
Application forms are available from the AMSAT Store.

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

73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space,
This week's ANS Editor, Jack Spitznagel, KD4IZ
kd4iz at frawg dot org



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