Founded in 1975 AMSAT-UK is a voluntary organisation that supports the design and building of equipment for amateur radio satellites.
AMSAT-UK initially produced a short bulletin called OSCAR News to give members advice on amateur satellite communications. Since those early days OSCAR News has grown in size and the print quality has improved beyond recognition. Today, OSCAR News is produced as a high-quality quarterly colour A4 magazine consisting of up to 40 pages of news, information and comment about amateur radio space communications.
The new lower-cost E-membership provides OSCAR News as a downloadable PDF file giving members the freedom to read it on their Tablets or Smartphones anytime, anyplace, anywhere.
AMSAT-UK FUNcube Mission Patch
An additional advantage is that the PDF should be available for download up to 2 weeks before the paper copy is posted.
Samantha Cristoforetti IZ0UDF with ISS HamTV Transmitter
Thursday, February 11, 2016, at 18:09 UTC, an educational ARISS radio contact took place at the Royal Masonic School for Girls, Rickmansworth,, United Kingdom. The school contact was operated by Tim Peake KG5BVI in the frame of the Principia mission.
It was a historic event: the radio contact was enhanced with video! Tim Peake activated the Ham Video transmitter on board Columbus.
HamTV Antennas at ARISS Telebridge Station IK1SLD in Casale Monferrato, Italy
As far back as the year 2000, a proposal for an ATV system on the International Space Station was submitted to the ARISS Project Selection and Use Committee by Graham Shirville, G3VZV.
November 2002, a request for amateur radio facilities on the then under construction Columbus module was submitted by Gaston Bertels, ON4WF to Jörg Feustel-Büechl, Director of Manned Spaceflight and Microgravity Directorate of the European Space Agency (ESA). The request was to install wideband amateur radio antennas on the nadir of Columbus, facing the earth. With such antennas, the on board amateur radio facilities could be extended to amateur TV.
In 2003 the request was examined in detail and finally accepted. ARISS would pay for the development, manufacturing and qualification of the antennas. ESA would support the installation cost.
ARISS-Europe started a funding campaign, all donations being published on the website.
In 2004 coaxial feed throughs were installed on the port cone of Columbus. This was needed for accessing the antennas with feedlines from inside the module.
In 2005, the Royal Belgian Amateur Radio Society (UBA) signed a contract with the Wroclaw University of Technology, Poland for the development and manufacturing of the antennas. Whereas initial plans were for UHF, L-band and S-band antennas, only L- and S-band antennas could be ordered by lack of funding. The cost of the project was 47,000 Euro.
One of the Columbus Module 2.4 / 1.2 GHz Antennas
Early 2006 the antennas were delivered to ESA. Meanwhile main Columbus contractor EADS and subcontractor Alenia Spazio had reviewed mechanical and thermal constraints. Wroclaw University proceeded to qualifications tests (cost 3.000 Euro) and the antennas failed.
In 2007 an additional contract was signed with the Wroclaw University for the development of modified antennas. This amounted to 36.000 Euro. These antennas were accepted and installed on Columbus, October 2007.
The cost of the antennas finally amounted to 86.000 Euro and was covered by a wordwide funding campaign.
ESA supported the total installation cost of the antennas, including feed throughs and coaxial cables.
After the successful launch of Columbus and its integration into the International Space Station complex, an ARISS-Europe working group started a study for the development of an amateur television transmitter on Columbus, using one of the the S-band antennas. A debate started between the supporters of analog television (ATV) and the proponents of digital television (DATV). The working group, which met monthly per teleconference, made progress, but was stuck by the lack of funding.
Front panel of the HamTV transmitter
As time went by, the debate on ATV versus DATV evolved at the advantage of the latter, but no funding was in sight… Then, suddenly, supported by the enthusiasm of Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZ0JPA, who had performed many ARISS school contacts during his 2010-2011 expedition aboard the Space Station, at the initiative of AMSAT Italia, an Italian manufacturer, Kayser Italia, presented a project for an amateur radio DATV transmitter to ESA’s educational services. In 2012, this proposal was accepted and ESA signed a contract with Kayser Italia for the development and the manufacturing of a DATV transmitter on S-band. This transmitter, dubbed “Ham Video, was installed on Columbus and ESA transferred the custodianship of this equipment to ARISS.
It was a long way, spanning sixteen years, from the initial proposal to the first ever HamTV school contact. A new era opens for ground station operators, interested in receiving digital amateur television from the International Space Station. A technical challenge already met by a few ground stations in Europe, USA and Australia. Long life to HamTV and success to the pioneering ground stations, world wide!
73,
Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
Watch First HamTV ARISS contact as received direct on 2395 MHz by Colin Watts G4KLB in Bournemouth
Tim Peake KG5BVI preparing for his spacewalk in January
Steve Nichols G0KYA got some good publicity for amateur radio by letting his local media outlets know he had received a signal from Tim Peake on the ISS.
He was lucky enough to hear astronaut Tim Peake’s ISS contact with another UK school on Thursday, February 11, 2016. Not only did he record it, but he sent out a press release and ended up being interviewed about it by BBC Radio Norfolk on Friday.
Steve says: “If you do hear and record Tim do contact your local media as they are fascinated by the whole business and it brings good PR for amateur radio in general.”
The video starts with the students of Cadogan House, the prep school for girls aged 4 to 11 at the Royal Masonic School for Girls singing a number of songs that have been part of their study into space.
The video continues with the senior school presenting an overview of the activities that they have been involved in as part of their study and understanding of space. This section concludes with a panel of experts from the UK space industry fielding questions from the assembled audience.
At approximately 33 minutes, Ciaran Morgan M0XTD from ARISS, starts the ARISS programme with an introduction of the team, their roles and all the equipment that has been brought to the school to help facilitate the contact.
The actual ARISS contact starts at approximately 53 minutes into the video.
After the contact has finished, the school’s Head Girl concludes the evening with a short thank you speech and introduces the trainers who prepared some of the girls for the Foundation Amateur Radio License.
Watch the ARISS UK Tim Peake and RMS for Girls video
Young women from RMS for Girls who certified as Amateur Radio operators for the live link up – Credit RMS
Contact was made with the International Space Station (ISS) at around 18:09 GMT and, in a world first at a school, video was streamed over the radio airwaves which meant that the students could see as well as hear Tim. The contact lasted around 8 minutes allowing several students to ask Tim about life on board the ISS.
Year 9 student Saira, asked
What the first word that came into his head was when he saw the Earth from space.
Tim’s response was simple, “beautiful.”
Isabella, aged 7, asked
When I am your age what do you think space travel will look like?
Tim said that Isabella had many years to wait until then but he hoped that trips to the Moon and to Mars would be possible.
Head of Education and Skills for the UK Space Agency, Jeremy Curtis said
The students at the Royal Masonic School did a fantastic and professional job during the contact itself – but more than that, the whole school has really engaged with Tim’s Principia mission by trying out the many education activities he has inspired.
John Gould G3WKL President of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) said
Tonight was a truly historic moment; not only for the school having their contact with Tim, but, for the first time ever a school received amateur television from the ISS. I hope this event gives all the students at the school, and everyone watching, a sense of inspiration in terms of STEM subjects which have been brought so vividly to light in a fun way through amateur radio.
It was marvellous; we’re absolutely elated and extremely grateful to Tim for setting the camera up. It was far better than we could have expected and I hope that the students enjoyed it as much as we did.
For more information on ARISS calls and other activities linked to the Principia mission, please visit the events page https://principia.org.uk/events/
Video of Tim Peake’s first Digital Amateur Television (DATV) HamTV ARISS contact as received direct on 2395 MHz by Colin Watts G4KLB in Bournemouth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9keVA21DPBc
AMSAT-UK 
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