Apr 25 2015

Nayif-1 CubeSat mission will have FUNcube transponder

Deputy project manager of Nayif-1 Fatma Lootah

Deputy project manager of Nayif-1 Fatma Lootah

AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL are delighted to announce that a FUNcube communications package has been selected as a major payload for the Nayif-1 CubeSat mission.

Nayif-1 Mission PatchThis mission is intended to provide Emirati students with a tool to design and test systems in space. It is being developed by the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) in partnership with American University of Sharjah (AUS).

It is expected that this payload will provide a large amount of valuable environmental data from space together with  a new, enhanced, UHF to VHF linear transponder.

The AMSAT team will be working closely with the Emirati students, in collaboration with support partner, ISIS – Innovative Solutions In Space B.V. from the Netherlands, to develop this new system in time for the launch which is scheduled to take place towards the end of 2015.

This exciting news was announced on April 25, 2015 during the Dutch “Interessedag Amateursatellieten”  or “Satellite Interest Day” event in Apeldoorn.

Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG demonstrating reception of FUNcube-1 at EIAST in Dubai

Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG demonstrating reception of FUNcube-1 at EIAST in Dubai

Apr 20 2015

Ofcom considers 10.475 GHz and 47 GHz bands for 5G

Ofcom-logo-col-tThe Amateur Satellite Service allocations at 10.475 GHz  and 47.0 GHz are being considered by Ofcom for 5G use .

Ofcom has published an update on spectrum bands above 6 GHz that might be suitable for next generation mobile, often referred to as ‘5G’ – the fifth generation of mobile services.

This document summarises responses from Ofcom’s earlier Call for Input in January and sets out their current views on bands and next steps. The update identifies several bands in different parts of the 6 – 100 GHz range, including 10.475-10.575 GHz and 47.000-47.200 GHz, they believe are candidates for further study for use in the UK.

Ofcom’s goal is to have globally harmonised bands for next generation mobile services and is currently engaging with other administrations around the world, ahead of these services becoming commercially available in the next five to six years.

Consideration of these bands will now be taken forward in forthcoming international discussions, including the World Radiocommunication Conference-15 (WRC-15) at which the scope of a future WRC-19 agenda item on bands above 6 GHz will be considered.

This does not guarantee these bands will be adopted in the future and Ofcom do not rule out considering other options ahead of WRC-15, pending further research and development.

Ofcom Above 6 GHz consultation page
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/above-6ghz/update-apr15/

Laying the foundations for next generation mobile services: Update on bands above 6 GHz
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/above-6ghz/5G_CFI_Update_and_Next_Steps.pdf

Quotient Associates – 5G Candidate Band Study
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/above-6ghz/qa-report.pdf

Frequencies of Es’hail 2 Geostationary Amateur Radio Transponders
https://amsat-uk.org/2014/09/21/eshail-2-ham-radio-transponders/

Apr 20 2015

Launching CubeSats For and From Australia

The 2015 CubeSat Workshop took place on Wednesday, April 1 at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Videos of the presentations are now available on YouTube.

Among the presenters were representatives of two UK space companies, Tom Walkinshaw of Alba Orbital and Craig Clark of Clyde Space.

The presentation schedule and slide PDF’s are at http://www.acser.unsw.edu.au/events/cubesat2015.html

The videos are at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ4pUVq3euPwUNX00If0FTw/videos

Watch 2015 Cubesat Workshop Session 2

Apr 18 2015

Kosmos-2504 pushes target off its orbit

Launch of Kosmos 2499Anatoly Zak reports on the maneuvers of Cosmos-2504 whose signals were detected by a Dutch amateur radio enthusiast Cees Bassa.

Cosmos-2504 was launched on March 31, 2015, at 16:47:56 Moscow Time from Site 133 in Plesetsk. Just hours later it was noted it was transmitting signals similar to previous maneuverable satellites — Cosmos-2491 (RS-46) and Cosmos-2499 (RS-47).

Read the article at http://russianspaceweb.com/Cosmos-2504.html

COSMOS-2499 Callsign RS-47 https://amsat-uk.org/2014/11/30/cosmos-2499-callsign-rs-47/

COSMOS-2491 is RS-46 https://amsat-uk.org/2014/12/02/cosmos-2491-rs-46/

Apr 18 2015

ISS 2395 MHz Digital Amateur TV Blank Transmission Test

Front panel of the HamTV transmitter

Front panel of the HamTV transmitter

The request to power up the Ham Video system was added to the crew task list on April 16.

That means, that crew is invited to activate Ham Video as a free time activity. No precise day/time for this activity is fixed.

Please monitor the 2395 MHz at 2.0 Ms/s frequency and tell everyone as soon as you observe it.

This will be a period of blank transmission for testing and calibration. Please make maximum use of it.

Read the HamTV overview by Gaston Bertels ON4WF http://tinyurl.com/HamTVoverview

Join the ISS HamTV Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HamTV

ARISS-EU HamTV Bulletins http://www.ariss-eu.org/

HamTV on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Hamtvproject

Video of ISS HamTV – Koichi Wakata KC5ZTA April 13, 2014
https://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/14/video-of-iss-hamtv-koichi-wakata-kc5zta-april-13-2014/

Apr 17 2015

With a heavy heart – G3CWV – SK

Clive Wallis G3CWV

Clive Wallis G3CWV

It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that I have just learnt of the passing of our dear friend Clive Wallis, G3CWV on 27th March 2015.

Clive has been a very staunch supporter of AMSAT from the very early days. Many will recall his intense interest and loyalty in following UOSAT-2/UO-11. He maintained a very comprehensive web site with details of the spacecraft’s activities. He wrote many articles for Oscar News about his activities. He attended many AMSAT-UK Colloquia.

He was awarded the Louis Varney cup for 2015 by the RSGB, and although he knew of the award before his passing, the formal presentation is not until 25 April.

His funeral is to be held on Wednesday, 22 April 2015 at 3.00pm at Christchurch, Bedford Road, Hitchin, Herts, UK. I am sure that his family would appreciate the presence of any AMSAT members who are able to be there.

We send our condolences to his widow, Janet.

RIP, Clive.

73s
Jim Heck G3WGM
Hon Sec AMSAT-UK

For 17 years between 1996 and 2013 Clive produced monthly reports on OSCAR-11  (UoSAT-2).
The report archive is at http://www.g3cwv.co.uk/newsarch.htm

Clive’s OSCAR-11 page http://www.g3cwv.co.uk/oscar11.htm

In 1993 Clive Wallis G3CWV took over distribution of satellite related BBC software
https://amsat-uk.org/2011/12/11/bbc-micro-and-amsat-uk-software-library/