The sun barely peeks over the horizon as a suitcase-like transport box exits Steward Observatory,...

Students from the Warsaw University of Technology have been working on the third in a...

In this edition: * AMSAT at Hamvention * Save the Date! Symposium 2024 * Multiple...

AMSAT News Service ANS-119 April 28, 2024 In this edition: AO-109 Re-enters AMSAT at Hamvention...

AMSAT’s AO-109 (Fox-1E) CubeSat is scheduled to reenter Earth’s atmosphere in the weeks ahead. The...

YouTuber 'saveitforparts' was recently contacted by the ground controller of the Russian UmKA-1/RS40S cubesat asking if he'd like to try and receive an SSTV image from the satellite. UmKA-1/RS40S is a small educational satellite assembled by a Russian high school. Originally it was intended for a radio astronomy experiment, but due to technical issues it's been switched to the secondary ham radio mission only.

Saveitforparts uses an RTL-SDR, directional Yagu antenna, PC running the MMSSTV decoder, and Android phone running the Stellarium satellite tracking app. After a few failed attempts he was able to eventually successfully track and receive the SSTV image as well as some telemetry.

We note that the SSTV image appears to have been specifically scheduled for saveitforparts personally, so if you try to receive this satellite yourself you will probably only be able to receive the telemetry signal.

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

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.

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 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

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

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.

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/

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

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

The Chair of IARU Region 1 Spectrum and Regulatory Liaison Committee, Barry Lewis G4SJH, writes on the IARU-R1 site that ITU‑R WP5A meeting #30 could not achieve consensus on the measures needed to protect the RNSS in the amateur 23cm band (1240-1300 MHz), (Relating to WRC-23 AI 9.1b)

Working Party 5A meeting #30 met over the period 13th to 22nd September 2023 and despite extra meeting time allocated specifically to the development of the ITU‑R Recommendation M.[AS_GUIDANCE] the meeting did not reach a consensus on the technical and operational measures required to ensure the protection of the RNSS (radio navigation satellite service) in the amateur 23cm band. The measures aim to identify parts of the frequency band with associated amateur transmitter power limits that can help protect the RNSS operations. By the close of the meeting three alternative solutions remained unresolved in the draft document.

This outcome was reported to the WP5A plenary meeting and the subsequent parent Study Group 5 meeting but despite further efforts still no outcome could be achieved. Since the recommendation will be important for WRC-23 discussions it is expected that further efforts will continue to try to find a solution.

On a positive note the Draft New Report ITU‑R M. [AS_CHARACTERISTICS] was finalised by WP5A an approved in Study Group 5.

The IARU report from the WP5A meeting can be downloaded here
https://www.iaru.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Report-from-WP5A_Sept-2023.pdf

The ITU-R WP5A Meeting Report can be downloaded from
https://itu.int/md/R19-WP5A/new/en
Word Doc https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/md/19/wp5a/c/R19-WP5A-C-0837!!MSW-E.docx

IARU Region 1 2023 conference information paper ZL23_C5_19 from RSGB ZL23_C5_19 1300MHz INFO

Volunteers from the British Amateur Radio Club (BATC) will be providing a live stream of the presentations from the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium which takes place as part of the RSGB Convention on October 14-15.

BATC volunteers have been recording and streaming the Colloquium for over 11 years.

Watch the AMSAT-UK Colloquium presentations on Saturday from 09:30-16:45 BST and on Sunday from 09:30-15:15 BST (GMT +1) at
https://batc.org.uk/live/amsatuk2023

The AMSAT-UK talks are in Lecture Room 5 and PDF’s of the talk schedule can be downloaded from the RSGB site at https://rsgb.org/main/rsgb-2023-convention/2023-convention-lectures/

Further information on the BATC is available at http://batc.org.uk/

AMSAT-UK is pleased to announce that the 2023 Colloquium will take place alongside the RSGB Convention at Kents Hill Park Conference Centre, Milton Keynes on the weekend of 14/15th October 2023.

Full details of the Colloquium will be made available nearer the time on the AMSAT-UK website at https://amsat-uk.org
As in previous years, the AMSAT-UK Colloquium will run as a separate stream within the RSGB Convention and will include presentations on a variety of satellite and space related topics.

The Annual General Meeting of AMSAT-UK will take place during the colloquium. The calling notice for the AGM will be issued once the programme of events has been finalised.

An AMSAT Gala Dinner will be held on the evening of Saturday 14th October at the Marriott Delta Hotel on Trimbold Drive, Kents Hill, Milton Keynes. Attendance is restricted this year at the hotel and a limited number of tickets are on sale via the AMSAT-UK Online Shop. https://shop.amsat-uk.org

The cost of the Gala Dinner is £39 per person and includes a three course meal with tea / coffee at its conclusion.
Alongside the Gala Dinner, AMSAT-UK has reserved a number of rooms at the Marriott Delta for the evening of Saturday 14th October 2023. These rooms include breakfast on Sunday 15th and are priced at £84 per room for single occupancy or £95 for double occupancy. Hotel accommodation and tickets for the Gala Dinner can be purchased on the AMSAT-UK Online Shop.

Bookings for the Hotel and Gala Dinner are now available on the AMSAT-UK Shop, but must close on 1st October 2023 unless sold out sooner, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Entrance to the RSGB Convention is managed by the RSGB and you will be required to purchase Day Tickets for the Saturday and/or Sunday to attend the AMSAT-UK Colloquium. These can be booked via the RSGB website at https://rsgb.org/main/rsgb-2023-convention/ Early bird discounts are being offered by the RSGB via their website.

73

Barry Sankey G7RWY and Dave Johnson G4DPZ
AMSAT-UK Joint Secretary
email secretary@amsat-uk.org

 

 

EO-88, with its 70cm to 2m linear transponder, having spent a trouble free 6 years and 5 months in space, finally re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and burned up on Tuesday, 18th July. Having originally been launched into a 500km orbit, EO-88 has reduced in altitude rapidly over the past year due to the increased level of solar activity.

Remarkably, some of the last frames of telemetry were captured as the 1U CubeSat passed over the South Western United States.
The final 90 seconds show a rapid rise in temperature across all the satellites sub systems. The last frame of data was captured by David WB0IZO in New Mexico at 18:18:54 UTC showing the antenna temperatures operating about 40 degrees above normal.

During the past 2 weeks, 86 stations have contributed EO-88 telemetry to the FUNcube Data Warehouse and this has given us the opportunity to study the behaviour of a functioning CubeSat as it makes its return from Space. Thank you all for your support.

Having provided the last frame of data, David WB0IZO, wins the telemetry section of the AMSAT-UK re-entry competition and will receive a framed certificate of achievement.

The prediction for the date and time of re-entry was very close with Paul N8HM predicting the 17th July and Larry N1MIW calculating the 21st. However, the winning entry was made by Thomas HB9SKA who correctly predicted the 18th July. Thomas also wins a framed certificate.

RIP EO-88. GOODBYE AND THANKS FOR THE FUN!

David G0MRF (AMSAT-UK)

As you may be aware, Solar Cycle 25 has already shown that we cannot yet predict what the sun will be doing with any great accuracy.

Sunspots, X-class solar flares and CMEs (coronal mass ejections) are increasing in frequency and intensity on a daily basis.

The peak of Solar Cycle 25 was not expected until late 2024 or early 2025 but it may be coming earlier and have a higher intensity than was predicted.

One result of this increased activity is that the upper atmosphere and ionosphere of the earth becomes warmer and expands upwards. This means that spacecraft in low earth orbit experience more drag or resistance as a result of the increase in the number atoms they are having to displace as they travel around the globe. As a consequence, the spacecraft loose more kinetic energy and start to descend lower in orbital height, which, of course, makes the problem worse and a fiery end to the spacecraft is hastened.

The actual effect is also dependant on the drag coefficient of the particular spacecraft…simply how much mass (the more the better) to how much surface area (the less the better). So in CubeSat terms, a 1U CubeSat, fairly full of stuff with a mass near the maximum of 1.3kg, will probably be better off than a half empty 3U CubeSat with deployable solar panels and other drag inducing protuberances.

All TLEs (Two Line Elements) include a parameter called drag, it is usually a very small number preceeded by four or more zeros! Although this parameter is calculated by the system, it is not usually precise or even stable, so cannot be used to accurately predict deorbit dates when looking forward many weeks/months. It can give us a guide though! Alarm bells should ring when we only see two leading zeros.

How does this effect our activities? Well for the FUNcube family, there are presently three active members!

FUNcube-1, AO73 was launched almost ten years ago in November 2013 into an elliptical polar orbit of approx 682×595 km. Presently those numbers are around 640×570 km so probably not too much to worry about. The drag number from the TLEs is, at the time of writing, 0.000074, a good number.

The same applies to JY1SAT, JO-97. This was launched in December 2018 into a 573×590 km polar orbit. Presently those numbers are around 557×573 km and the current drag is listed as 0.000076.

Unfortunately, however, the same cannot by said for Nayif-1, EO88. This spacecraft was launched in February 2017 into a 496×507 km polar orbit. Currently the orbit parameters show a height of around 320 km with the drag at 0.00319. It is now well below the ISS and much lower than at launch.

As mentioned, largely due to the random nature of the our star’s flux output on a day to day basis, it is not possible at this stage to accurately predict the likely deorbit date but it seems that it will certainly be before the end of this year. As the spacecraft continues to perform 100% nominally this is a great shame. Presently it is switching autonomously from high power telemetry when in daylight and with lower power telemetry and the transponder active when in darkness. The solar panels, battery and power system also continue to be reporting nominal numbers, essentially unchanged since the day of launch.

It will therefore be a really sad moment when re-entry occurs but in the meantime everyone is encouraged to use the spacecraft whilst it remains available.

To mark the event of EO88/Nayif’s demise, AMSAT-UK is offering two awards. These will be individual framed certificates.

Firstly, to the station who submits the last telemetry to the FUNcube Data Warehouse and also to who “guesses” or calculates the re-entry time and date most accurately. Submissions for this award must be made to EO88@amsat-uk.org before midnight (UTC) on July 4th 2023. So time is short to get your entries in. Good luck!

E-members of AMSAT-UK can now download the Summer 2023 edition of OSCAR News, issue 241, 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
• Satellite News
• “St Davids Rove” 28th Feb – 1st March 2023 by Nick MW1DDD/P
• G3VZV Operating via QO-100 on South Georgia as VP0GAA and on Tristan da Cuhna as ZD9VZV in March 2023
• Part of a great clear-out!
• ARISS International Meeting April 2023
• ITU News
• Receiving HAMTV from the ISS
• QO100 and a Family Road Trip Jim Ryan EI3DP
• QO-100 Portable Station by Dave M0GIW
• FUNcube-1 was centre-stage in the British Science Week

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.