Tag Archives: Amateur Radio

Mar 2 2014

ISS Ham Video Commissioning now scheduled

Front panel of the HamTV transmitter

Front panel of the HamTV transmitter

The Ham Video transmitter, which is stored in the Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS), will be installed March 6, 2014. The transmitter will be powered on briefly, just the time needed to check that the connection cables to the antenna, to the power supply and to the camera are installed properly. All control LEDs nominal, the transmitter will be considered ready for Commissioning and will be unpowered.

HamTV Antennas at ARISS Telebridge Station IK1SLD in Casale Monferrato, Italy

HamTV Antennas at ARISS Telebridge Station IK1SLD in Casale Monferrato, Italy

The first Commissioning step is planned March 8, 2014. Using call sign OR4ISS, crew will power on the Ham Video transmitter in configuration 1:
• ARISS antenna 41
• Frequency 2.422 GHz
• Symbol rate 1.3 Ms/s

The transmission will start shortly before the pass of the ISS over the Matera ground station in south Italy at approximately 13.29 UT.

The ground station will stream the video over the BATC server http://www.batc.tv/ Please select Member Streams and ISS.

During the pass, different configurations will be tested with ARISS antenna 41.

After the pass, the Ham Video transmitter will stay powered on in configuration 1 till the following Commissioning step, which is planned Sunday March 9, 2014 at approximately 12.40 UT.

For about 24 hours, the DATV signal will be transmitted permanently, but the camera will be powered off. The reason is, that the camera is battery powered and no provisions are made for frequent battery replacement. This mode is called “blank” transmission.

A basic amateur radio station that should be able to receive HamTV from ISS - Image AMSAT-Italia

A basic amateur radio station that should be able to receive HamTV from ISS – Image AMSAT-Italia

During Commissioning step 2, different configurations will again be tested, this time with ARISS antenna 43. The Matera ground station will stream the video over the BATC server.

Possibly, blank transmissions will occur in the period between Commissioning step 2 and the following step, which is not yet planned.

We will circulate Ham TV Bulletins to inform on blank transmissions.
Reports on reception of blank transmissions are very welcome. Reports can be filed via this webpage: http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_FSTV/submit.php

Participants using the Tutioune receiving software, developed by Jean Pierre Courjaud F6DZP, can record as well as stream detailed parameters of the received signal. Please see:
http://www.vivadatv.org/

Thank you for your participation

73,
Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
ARISS Europe chair

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

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

Mar 2 2014

Free NASA Online Course — Teaching Tomorrow’s Engineers

Earthrise viewed from lunar orbit prior to landing - Image Credit NASA

NASA Educator Professional Development and the National Science Teachers Association have joined forces to create and offer this first-of-its-kind online course for middle school educators. Participants can earn a certificate acknowledging 15 hours of effort. Graduate credit is available for a fee.

Module 1: Introduction to the Engineering Design Process
Event Dates: March 26, March 31, April 7 and April 17, 2014

Module 2 (optional): Implementing the Engineering Design Process in Your Classroom
Event Dates: April 21 and April 28, 2014

For more information about the course and to register online, visit
http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/online_courses/NEScourse.aspx

Questions about this series opportunity should be directed to John
Entwistle at john.d.entwistle@nasa.gov

Source: ANS

Mar 2 2014

Free Online Course — Space Systems Engineering 101

Earthrise viewed from lunar orbit prior to landing - Image Credit NASA

Space Systems Engineering 101, a new massive open online course from NASA and the Saylor Foundation, launches on March 3, 2014. The six-week general-audience course is free to the public and provides a unique opportunity to learn from and alongside NASA’s engineers. Students who participate can earn a free certificate.

The course will feature lectures from NASA scientists and engineers and Google Plus Hangouts with NASA personnel. Winners of an optional project competition will receive a chance to tour NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

For more information and to register for the course, visit
http://www.saylor.org/2014/02/blog-announcement-space-systems-engineering-course-starts-march-3rd/

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to
http://www.saylor.org/feedback/

Source: ANS

Mar 1 2014

Satellite TLE Lottery Begins

Deployment of Amateur Radio CubeSats from ISS 2014-02-28-0730

Deployment of Amateur Radio CubeSats from ISS 2014-02-28-0730

The last two days in February saw satellite deployments from the JAXA H-IIA F23 mission and the ISS which between them released 12 satellites carrying amateur radio payloads along with a number of commercial and research satellites.

JAXA H-IIA F23 Launch February 27, 2014 at 1837 UT Credit NASA/Bill Ingalls

JAXA H-IIA F23 Launch February 27, 2014 at 1837 UT Credit NASA/Bill Ingalls

After a launch the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) issue the Keplerian Two Line Element Set which can be used to determine the position and velocity of the associated satellite. CelesTrak make this information available and the file for launches in the past 30 days is available here.

After a new launch this file will list the ID’s of the objects that NORAD have detected. These objects can be parts of the rocket body as well as the satellites. The challenge in the days after launch is to work out which object ID’s correspond to which satellites.

In 2012 Mike Rupprecht DK3WN developed a simple solution to this perennial problem by using an SDR-IQ receiver and a bit of software.

In the case of Masat-1 he chose a high elevation pass (89 deg) where the Doppler shift should be significant and recorded the complete pass with his SDR-IQ without Doppler correction. With some software he simulated the entire pass with different TLE’s.

He then chose the TLE that best matched the doppler shift of the audio signal.

Read Mike’s full article with pictures on his website at http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=26038

TLEsKeplerian Two Line Elements (TLEs or ‘Keps’):
• New satellites launched in past 30 days http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/tle-new.txt
• CubeSats http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/cubesat.txt
• Experimental satellites http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/x-comm.txt
• Engineering satellites http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/engineering.txt
• Amateur radio satellites http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/nasa.all

NORAD Two-Line Element Set Format http://celestrak.com/NORAD/documentation/tle-fmt.asp

Free satellite tracking software https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/satellite-tracking/

Adding new satellites to SatPC32 and Gpredict https://amsat-uk.org/2013/11/23/adding-new-satellites-to-satpc32/

ISS CubeSats deployment https://amsat-uk.org/2014/02/20/iss-cubesat-deployments-to-resume-february-25/

JAXA H-IIA F23 launch https://amsat-uk.org/2014/02/23/launch-of-japanese-amateur-radio-satellites/

JAXA H-IIA F23 Launch Frequency Chart by Mike Rupprecht DK3WN

JAXA H-IIA F23 Launch Frequency Chart by Mike Rupprecht DK3WN

Feb 28 2014

M6CME to give Keynote Presentation at IWD STEM Conference

It's ONLY Rocket Science Cover - Dr Lucy Rogers M6CME

It’s ONLY Rocket Science Cover – Dr Lucy Rogers M6CME

Dr Lucy Rogers M6CME, author of It’s ONLY Rocket Science, will be giving the keynote presentation at the International Women’s Day (IWD) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) conference in Chester.

The evening event, which is free of charge, takes place at the University of Chester Riverside Innovation Centre (RIC) seminar room on Friday, March 7 at 6pm.

Lucy M6CME is a Fellow of both the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and of the Royal Astronomical Society. Her book “It’s ONLY Rocket Science” is widely respected in both the space industry and in education.

Download the event leaflet

Dr Lucy Rogers M6CME http://www.lucyrogers.com/

International Women’s Day March 8 http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

STEMettes http://stemettes.org/

Feb 28 2014

Free UK CubeSat Workshop

Dr Chris Bridges M6OBC and STRaND-1

Dr Chris Bridges M6OBC and STRaND-1

The UK CubeSat Workshop, planned for Tuesday, May 13, 2014, will include presentations on the amateur radio satellites FUNcube-1 and UKube-1.

The free workshop will take place at the Satellite Applications Catapult, Electron Building, Fermi Avenue, Harwell OX11 0QR.

Twenty eight Flock1 CubeSats from Planet Labs Inc. were successfully deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) in February. Planet Labs UK Manager Matt Waldram will give a presentation FLOCK 1: Commercialising CubeSat Applications.

Graham Shirville G3VZV will be giving a presentation on FUNcube-1 titled CubeSats as Educational Tools and there will be a live FUNcube-1 contact using the SatCatapult VHF/UHF Groundstation.

Steve Greenland of Clyde Space receives the AMSAT-UK FUNcube-2 boards that will be incorporated into UKube-1

Steve Greenland of Clyde Space receiving the AMSAT-UK FUNcube-2 boards for UKube-1

Chris Bridges M6OBC will cover the Recommendations & Progression from the 2013 UK CubeSat Workshop while Steve Greenland will talk about the UK Space Agency’s first CubeSat UKube-1. This is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2014 and carries a 435/145 MHz linear transponder.

The workshop will also feature a tour of the SatCatapult Mission Operations Centre and Groundstation.

Don’t miss out on this premier CubeSat event, register at http://www.cubesatforum.org.uk/wordpress/2014-uk-cubesat-workshop/

uk-space-agency-logo-rgb-121v2.ashxIf you are interested in PocketQubes, CubeSats or Nanosats make sure you register on the UK CubeSat Forum. Note: you don’t have to be based in the UK to register. http://www.cubesatforum.org.uk/

UK CubeSat Forum established https://amsat-uk.org/2013/12/19/announcing-the-uk-cubesat-forum/

Satellite Applications Catapult https://sa.catapult.org.uk/