Every few years the myth that Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was radio amateur UA1LO crops up again. This myth started in the early 1980’s and has been debunked numerous times since but it still appears on websites listing “Famous Hams”.

Martin Davidoff, K2UBC, posted this on the AMSAT Bulletin Board in 2002:

This note is in response to several related comments that appeared on the AMSAT-BB last week. Since not everyone reading this BB was radio active back in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s I’ve included some background
information.

The earliest known statement suggesting that Yuri Gagarin was a Radio Amateur appeared in the March/April 1981 issue of Orbit magazine, the primary publication of AMSAT-NA at the time. It was in an article by Joe Kasser, G3ZCZ, [the editor of Orbit] titled “A History of Radio Amateurs in Space — Part 2”. The article stated that Yuri Gagarin, the first person to fly in space, was UA1LO.

1962 UA1LO QSL card published in Orbit magazine issue 6

The evidence provided for this assertion was a QSL card from UA1LO to W8DX confirming a QSO on May 19, 1962 signed “Yuri”. Figures in the Orbit article showed several Russian stamps, and a photo, all featuring Gagarin. Joe never stated that the stamps or the photo were from the back of the QSL card but the reader could easily make that assumption. Joe later reported that the stamps were from his collection. I believe that the photo was on the flip side of the QSL and that the card was probably via the famous Box 88, Moscow.

Needless to say, the article caught my attention. However, after reading it carefully I concluded that this was just a typical UA QSL from the early 60’s. I felt that the fact that the operator happened to be named “Yuri”, a relatively common name, and that the Gagarin photo appeared on the back of the card didn’t justify the conclusion that UA1LO was Gagarin. I have to admit that it occurred to me that, in the QST tradition, the article was an “April Fool Feature” (check the publishing date).

UA1LO was Yuri Babkov from St. Petersburg formerly called Lenningrad

Several months after the Orbit article appeared I ran into Joe at an AMSAT Meeting in the MD/DC area and asked him if the article was true. Since this is more than 20 years ago and I have trouble recalling what happened last week I don’t fully trust my memory as to his response but I do remember concluding that the UA1LO – Gagarin connection was probably not valid. Joe states that based on the information he had available at the time he believed the statement to be true — the article was NOT an April Fool Feature.

Shortly after his famous flight into space (April 12, 1961) Yuri Gagarin was declared a “Hero of the Soviet Union” by the government. This is an honor of the highest order awarded to citizens making outstanding contributions to Soviet culture and life. Perhaps more important, Gagarin was truly regarded as a hero by the general population. Shortly after his flight photos of Gagarin were widely distributed all over the Soviet Union, especially to youth groups and in schools. It’s very likely that picture postcards with the famous photo were widely circulated.

At the time it was common practice for individual Soviet hams (those with their own stations) to produce QSL cards using linoleum block printing over, or on the flip side of, photo’s of famous people, places or works of art. [At the time most UA activity was from club stations].

Last week I read with great interest the AMSAT-BB note from Frank Cahoy, K0BLT, concerning his 1961 QSL from UA1LO (dated August 18, 1961) with the photo of Gagarin on the back. Frank sent me a scanned copy of the QSL and a translation (thanks to K5OE) of the text printed on the card. The card itself was somewhat different from the one W8DX received but it tends to support the contention that the cards sent to W8DX and K0BLT are generic QSL’s featuring a photo of a very popular Soviet hero from an operator who happened to be named “Yuri”.

The scan of K0BLT’s QSL appears to be a stock postcard featuring a photo of Gagarin with “UA1LO Leningrad” added using Linoleum block (or similar) printing techniques. The Cyrillic text, lower right on the address side, is characteristic of standard postcard printing.

I’d like to clearly state that there is absolutely NO reason to suspect that UA1LO had any intention of misleading anyone as to his identity. He was simply following common everyday procedures and it probably never occurred to him that his card might cause confusion.

I understand that shortly after Joe’s 1981 article appeared there was an article or editorial by Wayne Green, W2NSD, which also mentioned the “fact” that UA1LO was Yuri Gagarin. I have not seen this article so I don’t know if it contains any additional facts. I assume that it is based entirely on Joe’s comments. If anyone has information to the contrary please make it public.

For those of you not familiar with Wayne let me say that over a period of several decades he was a very well known and influential commentator on Amateur Radio. His articles, editorials and speeches were often informative and provocative; they were always interesting. However, as a journalist, Wayne made it clear that he considered fact checking a waste of time and he never let facts ruin a good story. I’m sure that he’d have a good laugh if he knew he was being quoted as an authority on a question concerning historical accuracy.

Leo Labutin, UA3CR, was a key figure in the group of Soviet Radio Amateurs that built and arranged for the launch of the early RS satellites. In about 1989 he made his first trip to the U.S. and I had the opportunityof meeting his Aeroflot flight and acting as his host for a few days before we flew to Atlanta for the AMSAT convention. During the visit I asked him if he knew whether Gagarin was a Radio Amateur — specifically if he were UA1LO. Leo replied that he knew of NO evidence that Gagarin was a Radio Amateur. [His wording was a little more colorful]. I did NOT ask Leo if he knew Gagarin or UA1LO personally so you can choose to consider his comments to be hearsay evidence.

During the mid 1970’s and early 1980’s I had the opportunity to see numerous copies of RADIO, the primary hobby magazine covering electronics and Amateur Radio in the Soviet Union. One of the goals of the magazine was to encourage young people to develop an interest in technical areas by presenting interesting projects and by describing achievements of prominent Russians involved in exciting technical programs. I believe that if Gagarin was UA1LO the fact would have been mentioned often in RADIO. I NEVER saw any mention of Yuri Gagarin being a Radio Amateur in the magazine. Since the sample of issues I saw was limited you are free to conclude that the information in this paragraph is irrelevant.

Over the years the statement that Gagarin was UA1LO continues to resurface. To the best of my knowledge no significant new evidence has appeared during this time.

So — Was Gagarin UA1LO?

My opinion (and it is only my opinion) is that based on the available evidence it’s extremely unlikely that Gagarin was UA1LO. But I am not 100% certain and I am always looking for new “facts”.

In the 22 years since that was posted no-one has been able to provide any solid evidence that Yuri Gagarin was a radio amateur.

1963 UA1LO QSL Card from Yuri Babkov

2009 UA1LO QSL Card from Yuri Babkov

The evidence seems conclusive that UA1LO was an amateur radio operator called Yuri Babkov, first licenced with the callsign UA1LO sometime before 1961 and still licenced in 2009, Gagarin died 1968.

There is, however, one aspect that is intriging, it concerns the 73 magazine article mentioned by Martin Davidoff.  It appeared in the October 1980 issue of 73, a special space and satellite issue, published several months before the mistaken article in Orbit magazine.

It was written by a Werner “Mac” Maurer W1QMS and tells about his trip to Greece on February 12, 1962, to try to sell X-band radars to the police. He describes how he had a brief encounter with Yuri Gagarin on February 13 at the Parthenon. W1QMS claims Yuri told him he held the callsign UA1LO and was a CW operator.

This appears to directly contradict the solid QSL card evidence that UA1LO was held by Yuri Babkob, so why did W1QMS write it?  It is not implausable he had heard about the QSL cards W8DX and others received and this in turn caused him to completely misremember a conversation with Gagarin when he was writing a story for Wayne Green W2NSD’s special space issue of  73 magazine. It will certainly have helped his article get published.

Athens News report on Yuri Gagarin’s visit https://en.rua.gr/2023/04/12/yuri-gagarin-visited-athens-at-a-hot-time-for-greece-and-the-ussr/

73 magazine https://ia601607.us.archive.org/27/items/73-magazine-1980-10/10_October_1980.pdf

1980-10 73 Magazine p42 Yuri Gagarin

1980-10 73 Magazine p44 Yuri Gagarin

There is one tiny link between amateur radio and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. shortly after his mission he, along with cosmonaut Titov, visited the Soviet Young Pioneer Camp ARTEK located at Gurzuf, Crimea, Ukraine SSR and his image was used on the QSL card of the camp’s amateur radio station’s, callsign UB5ARTEK, later changed to U5ARTEK.  He visited again on August 20, 1966, and was shown the club station. He was allowed to use the microphone and gave the callsign as U5ARTEK/KEDR (KEDR had been his callsign during his space mission).  Source UT7UT http://ut7ut.com/index.php/u5artek/

1966 Yuri Gagarin being shown the amateur station at ARTEK

1963 UB5ARTEK QSL Card

On May 26, at 1300 GMT AMSAT-LU plans (weather permitting) to launch a balloon carrying a linear multimode transponder V➤U, CW, SSB, FM, APRS LU7AA-11 and VIDEO.

It could last 9 hours if it reaches 82,000 feet height landing in Uruguay, or 6 hours landing at Gualeguaychú. The flight has been approved by ANAC/EANA.

Flight forecast: http://lu7aa.org/pronostico.asp?callsign=LU7AA-12

An attempt will also be made to launch LU8YY PicoBalloon emitting WSPR at 20m, if the winds help it could go around the world.

In Merlo, from May 24 to 26, presentations will be made to schools and universities. Depending on the weather it could be launched on May 25.

This experience will provide 4 FM channels + 3 CW + 3 SSB + 1 digital channel and 1 SSTV, all simultaneous. It will allow field testing on a balloon the future satellite platforms planned by AMSAT Argentina.

For latest updates check http://amsat.org.ar/?f=merlo

First Newfoundland contact via QO-100 between VO1/M0XUU and G0MRF

On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Gopan VO1/M0XUU (VU3HPF) succeeded in making the first contact from North America through the amateur radio QO-100 geostationary satellite transponder located at 26° East.

Gopan’s screenshot of first Newfoundland QO-100 contact

Gopan was in Newfoundland which is just outside the coverage area of QO-100, the elevation at Signal Hill at St. Johns is below the horizon at -0.9°.

He used FT-8 to have a trans-atlantic contact with David G0MRF in south-west London. David reported it was tough going with a lot of QSB.

Gopan will be in Newfoundland until May 15.

In a post on X Gopan reported his signal into QO-100 was not strong enough to permit SSB operation.

Dish used by VO1/M0XUU in Newfoundland

The transmit equipment Gopan used comprised, ICOM IC-705 with 2.4 GHz Up-converter from DX Patrol, feeding a homemade 2.4 GHz amplifier delivering 10 watts output to a Helix 2.5 turn YATT design.

The receive side comprised a homemade 10 GHz Down-converter was based on a design by David G0MRF, a modified LNB all controlled by a Leo Bodnar M0XER GPSDO.

The dish was an 80 cm offset.

The software used was SDR Console and Airspy for setting up the station and MSHV in standard mode for FT8/FT4.

After his initial contact with David G0MRF, Gopan went on the work several other stations including Sadan TA4SO in Turkey.

David G0MRF will be joining Graham G3VZV on a QO-100 Dxpedition to Newfoundland from May 15-19.

They are taking enough equipment to enable transmissions on QO-100 using SSB / CW / FT8 / FT4 / Digital Amateur Television (DATV).

Graham G3VZW testing QO-100 equipment before Newfoundland Dxpedition with David G0MRF

A video of the presentation ‘Making QO-100 contacts from North America – A new challenge’, given by Graham G3VZV at the 2022 AMSAT-UK Colloquium can be seen at
https://amsat-uk.org/2022/11/01/making-qo-100-contacts-from-north-america-a-new-challenge/

AMSAT-UK issue a special Certificate of Achievement for QO-100 contacts made from North America.  Applications should be sent to awards@amsat-uk.org

Full details of the award in this Word Document

You can follow posts on X at:

Gopan M0XUU – https://X.com/vu3hpf
David G0MRF – https://X.com/g0mrf
Graham G3VZV – https://X.com/G3VZV

Stefan VE4SW reports he will be traveling to Newfoundland and will be using the callsign VO100QO on QO-100 from May 13-17, he writes:

“VO100QO a special callsign for the activation of QO-100 from St John’s in Newfoundland will be used by the “Amateur Radio Satellites and Systems – Canada” Association starting Monday, May 13, at Signal Hill or another suitable location (weather permitting). Canadian amateur radio operators Stefan Wagener VE4SW and John Langille VE1CWJ will use a 1.8m dish and up to 100W on SSB to reach QO-100 at -1 degree elevation.

We invite all stations and operators in or near St John’s to join us in person and be part of the story. We will operate from Monday, May 13th to Friday, May 17th (weather permitting). Contact VE4SW (email on my QRZ page) for local information and timing.

The “Amateur Radio Satellites and Systems—Canada” Association will issue special certificates for successful contacts, and all QSOs will be logged into LoTW. Please see our “VO100QO” QRZ page for updates starting Sunday, May 12.

We would very much like to acknowledge the support of “DX Patrol” in Portugal (https://dxpatrol.pt) and António Matias for his support. We will use the DX Patrol QO-100 Groundstation V2 and other equipment for our attempt!”

Follow Stefan VE4SW on X – https://X.com/StefanWagener3

Information on QO-100 is at https://forum.amsat-dl.org/index.php?board/3-qo-100-es-hail-2-p4-a/

FT-8 QO-100 contact between Gopan VO1/M0XUU and TA4SO

During May there are plans for two separate attempts to make contacts from Newfoundland using the QO-100 geostationary satellite amateur transponders.

Newfoundland is just outside the coverage area of QO-100, the elevation at Signal Hill at St. Johns is -0.9°, however, contacts have been made from Indonesia at an elevation as low as -1.3° so there is a chance of success.

Gopan VO1/M0XUU (VU3HPF) will be in Newfoundland from May 8-15 and will attempt to make QO-100 contacts.

David VO1/G0MRF and Graham VO1/G3VZV will be in Newfoundland May 15-19 and plan to be active on QO-100 using SSB / CW / FT8 / FT4 / DATV.

You can follow posts on X at:

Gopan M0XUU – https://X.com/vu3hpf
David G0MRF – https://X.com/g0mrf
Graham G3VZV – https://X.com/G3VZV

Video of the presentation ‘Making QO-100 contacts from North America – A new challenge’, given by Graham G3VZV at the 2022 AMSAT-UK Colloquium
https://amsat-uk.org/2022/11/01/making-qo-100-contacts-from-north-america-a-new-challenge/

Information on QO-100 is at https://forum.amsat-dl.org/index.php?board/3-qo-100-es-hail-2-p4-a/

GreenCube IO-117 CubeSat

Rome, April 30, 2024 – AMSAT Italia is proud to announce the acquisition of the quote of property of the IO-117 “GreenCube” satellite. The other part of the property remains on behalf of “Sapienza University”, Rome, Italy.

A collaborative work of the parts will let the satellite continue the amateur radio operations after the completion of the primary scientific mission. This will definitively avert the satellite decommissioning process by transferring the legal responsibility of the satellite from the Italian Space Agency to AMSAT Italia. Even formally and legally, the satellite, already known with its original name of GreenCube, becomes for the exclusive use of amateur radio. The scientific community continue the study of the behavior of this type of satellite placed in MEO orbit.

GreenCube was designed and developed by Sapienza University, ENEA and University of Naples Federico II for the Italian Space Agency. AMSAT Italia contributed to design the digipeater and supported amateur radio operations. IARU coordinated the use of the operations in the amateur radio frequency bands.

The satellite was carried on the qualification flight of Vega-C launcher on July 13, 2022 from the French Guiana Space Center in Kourou. On October 29, 2022, the on-board digipeater was activated, allowing GreenCube to become the first ham radio satellite to operate in a MEO orbit. Being a radio amateur worldwide success, AMSAT officially designated the satellite as Italy-OSCAR 117 (IO-117).

AMSAT Italia and Sapienza Space Systems and Space Surveillance Laboratory – S5LAB- are now committed to operate the satellite and to continue to offer the service to the amateur radio community.

For further information please contact AMSAT Italia at segreteria@amsat.it

Source AMSAT Italia http://www.amsat.it/AMSAT_Italia_acquires_the_IO-117_Greencube_satellite.pdf

Preparing for ARISS school contact

An ARISS contact is scheduled with students at Mrs Ethelston’s CE Primary Academy at Axminster Community Academy Trust, Lyme Regis, U.K. at 11:44 BST (10:44 GMT) on Wednesday April 17 on 145.800 MHz FM.

Matthew Dominick KC0TOR

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and students at the Mrs. Ethelston’s CE Primary Academy located in Lyme Regis, UK. ARISS conducts 60-100 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

Acorn Multi Academy Trust is a small trust of seven schools (Mrs Ethelstons, Axminster, Chardstock, Marshwood, Loders, Thorncombe and Membury) that are situated on the coast of the English Dorset /Devon /Somerset border. Mrs Ethelston’s CE Primary Academy is hosting this ARISS contact and is directly involved in this project, however children involved are from the 7 primary schools within this Multi-Academy Trust and range in ages from 4-11 years.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of astronaut Matthew Dominick, amateur radio call sign KCØTOR. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the relay ground station.

The amateur radio ground station for this contact is in Lyme Regis, UK. Amateur radio operators using call sign GB4ACA, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for April 17, 2024 at 11:44:48 am BST (UK) (10:44:48 UTC, 6:44 am EDT, 5:44 am CDT, 4:44 am MDT, 3:44 am PDT).

The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://live.ariss.org

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

2024-03-27 Belgium 1240-1300 MHz proposed restrictions

On March 27, 2024, Belgium’s regulator the BIPT published draft restrictions on amateur radio operation  in the 23cm (1240-1300 MHz) band.

Belgium is believed to be the first country to propose restrictions on 23cm band operation following WRC-23 ITU-R Recommendation M.2164-0

The new restrictions include:

Class A (equiv UK Full, USA Extra) – size of band reduced from 60 MHz to 8.24 MHz. EME (but not satellite uplink) is permitted 1260-1262 MHz and the antenna elevation must always be more than 15° above the horizon and the transmission power is limited to 50 W EIRP. If the elevation is above 55° above the horizon, the power is increased to 500 watts EIRP

Class B (equiv UK Intermediate, USA General) – 1296-1300 MHz only

Class C (equiv UK Foundation, USA Technician) – No access (unchanged)

The public consultation runs until April 28 https://www.bipt.be/operators/publication/consultation-on-the-frequencies-powers-and-transmission-modes-that-may-be-used-by-radio-amateurs

Read the full UBA story at https://www-uba-be.translate.goog/nl/nieuws/raadpleging-over-ontwerp-van-besluit-van-de-raad-van-het-bipt-inzake-de-frequenties?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US

Series 15 episode 4 of Michael Portillo’s TV show Great British Railway Journeys: Havant to Guildford, features Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and Professor Sir Martin Sweeting G3YJO.

To see the segment fast-forward 20 mins 30 secs into the show.

Watch in the UK on BBC iPlayer at
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001xj3j/great-british-railway-journeys-series-15-4-havant-to-guildford

Over the years Michael has met several radio amateurs while making his show.
In 2013 he was shown how to send Morse code by Peter Watkins M0BHY
https://web.archive.org/web/20180107172841/http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2014/january/michael_portillo_sends_morse_code.htm

In 2017 he did Amateur Radio moonbounce from Goonhilly in Cornwall under the supervison of Noel Matthews G8GTZ and Brian Coleman G4NNS
https://amsat-uk.org/2018/01/06/bbc-tv-to-show-michael-portillo-moonbounce/

Customers for Inaugral SaxaVord Spaceport Launch

Two more amateur radio satellites, MARIA-G (HADES-F) and UNNE-1 (HADES-E), are planned to launch from the UK’s SaxaVord Spaceport later in 2024.

Previously announced amateur radio payloads on the launch are:
ERMINAZ-1U and -1V from AMSAT-DL
GENESIS-MA and -ME from AMSAT-EA
QUBIK 5, SIDLOC-PQ-1 and -PQ-2 from Libre Space Foundation

MARIA-G

SaxaVord UK Spaceport under construction

A 1.5u Pocketqube. MARIA-G will offer radio amateurs around the world the opportunity to relay FM voice and AX.25 / APRS 300 / 1200 bps communications. The satellite will also transmit telemetry with its status and voice and CW messages. This all will be achieved by implementing a SDR based FM and FSK repeater. The FM / FSK repeater will be available all time and opened by squelch level without the need of a PL tone/CTCSS.

Main mission for MARIA-G is to be a FM repeater but it will also include a simple guess game being implemented by students at Maria Guerrero High School in Collado Villalba – Madrid (Spain). The satellite will send a clue each week in CW so radioamateurs will have to solve the mystery by having all the clues.

A small experiment, developed by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft research organization (Germany) will also fly on the satellite to make proof of concept transmissions of a TS-UNB waveform from a low Earth orbit. It will transmit a TS-UNB message according to the ETSI standard ETSI-TS-103-357. It is intended solely as a research and development project with no commercial intent, all its data public and open.  ITU modulation classification would be 100K W2DWW but the bandwidth will be narrowed. The operation of this experiment will be managed by AMSAT-EA.

UNNE-1

A 1.5u Pocketqube. UNNE-1 will offer radio amateurs around the world the opportunity to relay FM voice and AX.25 / APRS 300 / 1200 bps communications. The satellite will also transmit telemetry with its status and voice and CW messages.

This all will be achieved by implementing a SDR based FM and FSK repeater. The FM / FSK repeater will be available all time and opened by squelch level without the need of a PL tone/CTCSS.

A small guessing-game is being implemented by students of Universidad de Nebrija (Spain). The satellite will send a clue each week in its telemetry so radio-amateurs will have to solve the mystery by having all the clues. Game will be detailed in AMSAT-EA and Universidad de Nebrija websites.

The main mission for the satellite is acting as a FM voice repeater although due to its SDR nature it can repeat data too. This satellite is based on the hardware of HADES-D (SO-121) that’s currently being used to amateurs worldwide. The guess game implemented by the University is a small challenge for the radio-amateurs and its mission is to make the reception of signals from the satellite fun for youngsters, expecting them to be future radio amateurs.

Proposing a UHF downlink, VHF Uplink for FM voice, FSK data up to 1200 bps, APRS up to 1200 bps and FSK telemetry and experimental data up to 1600 bps and CW.

These two satellites are part of the Erminaz mission, a joint effort by AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-EA and Libre Space Foundation. Planning a DLR/ESA launch from the UK SaxaVord Spaceport in Summer 2024 into 500/600 km polar orbit.

IARU satellite frequency coordination pages https://iaru.amsat-uk.org/index.php

AMSAT-DL ERMINAZ https://amsat-dl.org/en/erminaz/

AMSAT-EA projects https://www.amsat-ea.org/proyectos/

Libre Space Foundation projects https://libre.space/projects/

S5Lab announcement on X that GreenCube is to cease operation

At 1622 GMT on Thursday, January 25, 2024 @S5Lab posted on X that the GreenCube IO-117 Digipeater would be permanently deactivated on February 5.

Designed and developed by students of Sapienza University of Rome, GreenCube IO-117 was the first satellite to carry an amateur radio payload into Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) – 6,000 km.

IARU satellite frequency coordination information https://iaru.amsat-uk.org/finished_detail.php?serialnum=784

AMSAT Responds to Planned Decommissioning of IO-117 (GreenCube)
https://www.amsat.org/amsat-responds-planned-decommissioning-io-117-greencube/

The S5Lab post on X said:

Dear Friends,

After one year and a half of operations, it is time to conclude the GreenCube operations with the planned de-commissioning activities. After the conclusion of the nominal experiment and with the digipeater payload active for more than one year, we will pergorm the passivation operations for the satellite.

The planned passivation operations will be executed on Monday, 5 February 2024, at 00:00 UTC. From that day, GreenCube will be completely passivated and the digipeater will be switched off for good.

We want to thank everyone that endorsed, supported or participated in the mission and the radio amateur community that enthusiastically became a true part of our project. We hope that GreenCube will somehow be part of your memories of radio amateurs, space engineering enthusiasts, and we hope to involve you soon in many more adventures.

Thanks once again for the unbelievable memories shared together… See you soon!

The GreenCube Team at S5Lab

E-members of AMSAT-UK can now download the December 2023 edition of OSCAR News, issue 243, here.

The paper edition edition will be sent to postal members and should arrive in the next 2-3 weeks.

In this issue:
• From the Secretary’s Keyboard
• Letters to the Editor
• Satellite News
• Beyond the Bent Pipe by Martin Ling M0LNG
• St Peter-in-Thanet Junior School ARISS Contact by John Hislop, G7OHO
• Greencube Antennas by Dave Fisher KG0D
• Packet Decode Analysis from GreenCube Terminal’s debug.log by Justin Sours, N9ZTS

AMSAT-UK FUNcube Mission Patch

Membership of AMSAT-UK is open to anyone who has an interest in amateur radio satellites or space activities, including the International Space Station (ISS).

E-members of AMSAT-UK are able to download the quarterly publication OSCAR News as a convenient PDF that can be read on laptops, tablets or smartphones anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Join as an E-member at Electronic (PDF) E-membership

PDF sample copy of “Oscar News” here.

Join AMSAT-UK using PayPal, Debit or Credit card at
http://shop.amsat-uk.org/

E-members can download their copies of OSCAR News here.

Students involved in the Clark sat-1 project

Clark sat-1 (AMBITIOUS), callsign JS1YLT, is scheduled to deploy from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday, December 18, 2023, at 10:15 GMT. The IARU coordinated downlink is 435.130 MHz.

Clark sat-1 (AMBITIOUS) CubeSat

Clark sat-1 is a 1U size satellite is an educational project of students at the Clark Memorial International High School in Japan. As of November 30 approximately 50 students have been involved in the project and a number have an amateur radio license. The satellite will carry out these missions:

1. Optical Camera Mission
Take photos of the Earth and will downlink them in the 435 MHz band (GMSK, 4,800 bps). The downlink schedule will be posted on X (@sat1_AMBITIOUS).

2. Digi-talker Mission
Downlink 40 to 120 seconds long Digi-talker NBFM signal (Voice message or SSTV pictures in Robot 36 format recorded before launch) including the call sign and school name. communications.

In addition to the 4k8 AX25 GMSK telemetry and mission data there will be a CW beacon every two minutes.

Through these missions, the students will be able to improve their amateur radio and satellite communication skills.

The project will also serve as a model showcase for the development of amateur satellites by the younger generation, and stimulate the interest of the younger generation in amateur radio and satellite

We would appreciate if you will report the reception to “clarksat-1@clark.ed.jp” after receiving those signals.

Other information
1) Orbit injection schedule (may change)
Dec. 18th, 2023 （Monday）10:15（UTC）
refer : https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/biz-lab/news/detail/003559.html

2) Clark sat-1 website https://sp.clark.ed.jp/en/

3) IARU website https://iaru.amsat-uk.org/finished_detail.php?serialnum=852

4) X account (@sat1_AMBITIOUS) https://twitter.com/sat1_AMBITIOUS

5) NASA’s archive movie of the satellite’s launch to the ISS
Clark sat-1 was launched on November 10, 2023 (UTC) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, USA.
https://www.youtube.com/live/Hgj1byn08lM

Kosuke Narita, JS1YIZ

An ARISS Slow Scan TV (SSTV) event is scheduled from the International Space Station (ISS) December 16-19, 2023, on 145.800 MHz FM to celebrate the 40th anniversary of amateur radio in human spaceflight.

The event is slated to begin on Saturday, December 16, at 10:15 GMT for setup and operation and continue until Tuesday, December 19, ending at 18:00 GMT. These times are tentative and are subject to change due to crew availability.

Images will be downlinked at 145.800 MHz +/- 3 kHz for Doppler shift and the expected SSTV mode of operation is PD-120.

Radio enthusiasts participating in the event can post and view images on the ARISS SSTV Gallery at https://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/

The signal should be receivable even on a handheld with a 1/4 wave whip. If your rig has selectable FM filters try the wider filter for 25 kHz channel spacing.

You can get predictions for the ISS pass times at https://www.amsat.org/track/

ARISS SSTV Blog https://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/

Useful SSTV info and links https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/iss-sstv/

AO-73 (FUNcube-1) – Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

After a year long period of ‘battery management’, AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL have restarted the transponder on AO-73.

After 10 years in orbit, the battery on the satellite has reduced capacity and until recently, has been unable to charge to the nominal 8.3V.
Following some careful battery management, where the transmitter was off during eclipse, the battery status has improved and the transponder has been reactivated.

Although the battery voltage is varying between 8.13 in sunlight and 7.8V at the end of eclipse, this is much improved on the situation earlier in the year.

Low power BPSK telemetry is transmitted on 145.935MHz
The inverting mode U/V transponder input is 435.130 to 435.150MHz
The transponder downlink is 145.970 to 145.950MHz

At the moment the satellite has a high spin rate of apx. 30 rpm and if you’ve not used AO-73 before, the downlink can be Doppler tracked successfully, but the input on 70cms is best tuned manually due to temperature drift of the receiver.

73

David G0MRF – AMSAT-UK

IARU have provided an update on the outcome of ITU WRC-23 Agenda Item 9.1B concerning the Amateur and Amateur Satellite Service allocations in 1240-1300 MHz:

“During the WRC-23 deliberations, strong positions were expressed by all the parties involved. The result is a well-supported compromise for a footnote in the Radio Regulations regarding amateur and amateur satellite service operation in the 1240–1300 MHz range. The footnote reminds administrations and amateurs of the need to protect the primary RNSS from interference and provides guidance to administrations to allow both services to continue to operate in this portion of the spectrum. The compromise was formally adopted by the Conference Plenary on December 8 and is not subject to further consideration during the final week of the WRC. The IARU team continues its work on other WRC issues including the development of agendas for future conferences.

IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, noted “This is a very good result for the amateur services. The decision reached at WRC-23 on this agenda item makes no change to the table of allocations nor incorporates by reference M.2164 into the Radio Regulations. The addition of a footnote that provides guidance to administrations in the event of interference to the RNSS is a good regulatory outcome for amateurs and the primary users of this band.”

The WRC also agreed to suppress the Resolution 774 which closes the issue and satisfies the agenda item.”

Read the full IARU statement at https://www.iaru.org/recommendation-on-ai-9-1b-approved-at-wrc-23/

Download ITU‑R Report M.2532 https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/R-REP-M.2532-2023-PDF-E.pdf

IARU Summary Meeting Report WRC-23: This report is focusses on the 23 cm Band RNSS Coexistence Aspects and WRC-23 AI 9.1b by Barry Lewis G4SJH https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Report-from-WRC_Dec-2023_23cm.pdf

Signal received from FUNcube-1 at National Radio Centre Bletchley Park, Nov 21, 2013

November 21, 2023, marks the tenth birthday of our very first CubeSat mission, FUNcube-1 (AO-73).

A very short time after the launch from Yasny in Russia and within a few minutes from deployment, the very first frame of data from the low power transmitter on board, was detected and decoded by ZS1LS in South Africa. He was able to relay the data over the internet from his Dashboard to the Data Warehouse and the numbers, appeared, as if by magic, at the launch party being held at the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park.

ISL03 Mission Patch

After a very brief check out, the FUNcube team were able to switch the transmitter to full power, again at the very first attempt, and were quite amazed at the strength of the signal from the 300mW transmitter on 145.935 MHz. The transponder was then switched on and successfully tested, the first contact was between G6LVB and M5AKA who were both operating from the Bletchley Park car park.

The team finished the day with a request to AMSAT-NA for an Oscar number and were delighted to receive the AO73 Oscar 73 designation!

Since then, FUNcube-1, with a launch mass of less than 1kg, has operated continuously with only a very few interruptions. In excess of 53,500 orbits, 1.3 billion miles travelled, 61 million telemetry data packets transmitted, and with more than 10.9 million unique data packets downloaded and stored in the Data Warehouse.

The FUNcube team still receive many requests for Fitter message uploads for school events…please contact us by email to operations@funcube.org.uk giving us at least two weeks notice.

The FUNcube team continue to be very grateful to all the many stations around the world that continue to upload the telemetry that they receive to our Data Warehouse. They really need this data to provide a continuous resource for educational outreach.

FUNcube Data Warehouse and the Dashboard software
https://funcube.org.uk/working-documents/funcube-telemetry-dashboard/

FUNcube email group https://groups.io/g/FUNcube

FUNcube Website http://www.funcube.org.uk/

EIRSAT-1 and CubeSat Deployer

EIRSAT-1 launched on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, USA, at 1819 GMT on Friday, December 1, 2023. It has a downlink on the IARU coordinated frequency of 437.100 MHz, see https://iaru.amsat-uk.org/finished_detail.php?serialnum=639

Watch the launch live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l64-hEGeXZY

Information on the beacon can be found at https://github.com/ucd-eirsat-1/beacon

Preliminary TLE at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mNKpfPlnwJQYWjs2C9t3_D9tfSN7Mb8L/view

ESA: “The first confirmed recording of EIRSAT-1 from each continent (Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, South America, and Oceania) within a week of launch will be rewarded with a QSL card from ESA!” https://www.esa.int/Education/CubeSats_-_Fly_Your_Satellite/Calling_all_radio_amateurs_be_the_first_to_hear_satellite_EIRSAT-1_from_orbit

EIRSAT-1 was built by students from University College Dublin under the framework of ESA Academy’s Fly Your Satellite! programme (FYS) – a fully hands-on initiative supporting university student teams in the development of their own satellites.

Lead by students from the UCD School of Physics and the UCD College of Engineering, the project began in 2017 when the team’s proposal to build a CubeSat to perform gamma ray astronomy was accepted as part of the 2nd cycle of FYS.

The 2-unit CubeSat carries three experiments – or ‘payloads’. The primary science payload GMOD is a gamma ray detector that will study the most luminous explosions in the universe, gamma ray bursts. Secondary payloads include a thermal coating study that will assess the performance of surface treatments for satellites as well as an alternative system for controlling spacecraft orientation.

Source ESA article https://www.esa.int/Education/CubeSats_-_Fly_Your_Satellite/Ireland_s_first_satellite_on_its_way_to_launch

Follow the EIRSAT-1 team on X at https://twitter.com/EIRSAT1

EIRSAT-1 website https://www.eirsat1.ie/

IARU Region 1 reports as a part of the preparatory process for WRC-23 agenda item 9.1 topic b) involving the 23cm band (1240-1300 MHz), ITU‑R Report M.2532 has been published.

This report encapsulates the outcome of resolves 1 of ITU‑R Resolution 774 that requires a detailed review of the different systems and applications used by the amateur and amateur satellite services in the 23cm band. The review forms a part of the basis for the studies required by resolves 2 to address the amateur and amateur satellite services coexistence with the radio navigation satellite service (RNSS).

The publication represents a positive outcome from a great deal of work and committment by the IARU volunteer team that has been central to its development since 2019 in ITU‑R Study Group 5.

Download ITU‑R Report M.2532 https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/R-REP-M.2532-2023-PDF-E.pdf

The information paper ZL23_C5_19 1.3 GHz Band – Additional Information was submitted by the RSGB to the IARU Region 1 Conference held Novemebr 1-4, 2023. It provides information on the situation in the 1240-1300 MHz and 13001350 MHz spectrum. It can be downloaded from ZL23_C5_19 1300MHz INFO

Extract from CPM report 2023-10-11-Extract CPM-Report-to-WRC-23 _2_

Delfi-C3 Team at AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2008

After more than 15 years in orbit, Delfi-C3’s mission is about to come to an end. The team predict that re-entry will take place around November 16th 2023.

The re-entry date might vary depending on the solar activity, which is very hard to predict accurately. See also @Marco_Langbroek on Twitter for a similar prediction.

https://twitter.com/Marco_Langbroek/status/1720110996499349663

Delfi-C3 Re-entry Prediction

We would like to request all amateur radio operators / SWL’s / satellite enthusiasts worldwide to listen for Delfi-C3’s telemetry downlink on 145.867 MHz, 1200 baud AX.25 BPSK. We will hand out an award certificate to the person submitting the last Delfi-C3 telemetry frame.

This can be done either through the RASCAL software (updated version coming…), through the SATNOGS network or by sending us decoded telemetry frames with reception time and location via email to Delfi_at_tudelft.nl.

On behalf of the entire Delfi-C3 team, we would like to sincerely thank the worldwide amateur radio / SWL / satellite community for assisting the team by forwarding received telemetry and reception reports.

Back in 2008 we could not imagine the great support received so far and the many first we had, including a successful ground network and flying the first linear transponder in a CubeSat.

We strongly believe that Delfi-C3 has paved the way for many follow-on missions (both amateur and commercial), and has been a great step towards maturing CubeSat technology as well as training the next generation of space engineers. Stay tuned for updates!

On behalf of the team best 73s,

Wouter PA3WEG