Tag Archives: satellite

Oct 3 2012

Join AMSAT-UK

AMSAT-UK is a non-profit volunteer organisation for those interested in amateur radio space communications.

AMSAT-UK produces a quarterly newsletter OSCAR News and its members are involved in designing, building and operating amateur radio satellites.

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

The Membership year lasts for 12 months starting on January 1 each year.

If you join after July 31 of any particular year, then you will receive complimentary membership for the whole of the following year, i.e. join on Oct 3, 2012, and you have nothing to pay until Dec 31, 2013.

Now is a very good time to join.

AMSAT-UK_FUNcube_Mission_PatchThere are two rates:
UK
Rest of the World (Overseas)

These separate rates go to offset the extra postage costs involved in mailing our quarterly publication, “Oscar News”, to different parts of the World. Sample copy at http://www.amsat-uk.org/on_193_final.pdf

Join AMSAT-UK using PayPal, Debit or Credit card at
http://shop.amsat.org.uk/shop/category_9/Join-Amsat-UK.html

Sep 30 2012

EQUiSat Optical Beacon CubeSat

EQUiSat – Image Credit Brown University

Students at the Ivy League Brown University are developing an amateur radio satellite EQUiSat.

It will carry a Xenon Flash Tube (XFT) subsystem to act as an Optical Beacon that should be visible to the unaided eye of observers on Earth. The Radio Beacon is planned to operate in the 435-438 MHz band.

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Sep 23 2012

John Beanland G3BVU SK

John Beanland G3BVU AA1YE in 2008 – Image Credit PART Westford Radio Club

AMSAT has received the sad news on the passing of John Beanland, G3BVU. John was an avid AMSAT member and helped man the AMSAT booth at the Boxboro Hamfest over the years. His friends remember John to be outgoing and enthusiastic about amateur radio in space. AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW noted, “AMSAT has lost a good friend and enthusiastic member.”

Charles “John” Beanland, born in Witney, England passed away on September 21, 2012 after a long illness, aged 85. John enlisted in the Royal Navy during WWII. He was first licensed as G3BVU in 1947. He worked for the General Post Office (GPO) in Engineering and the English Electrical Valve Company (later known as EEV / e2v) where he worked on Guided Weapons. He later joined Texas Instruments and finally Microwave Associates, UK where he developed VHF solid state power amplifiers all while attending and receiving BS degrees in Electrical Engineering, Radio and Telecommunications.

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Sep 15 2012

DLR rejects amateur radio P5-/Mascot-2 project

AMSAT-DL have released a statement regarding the P5-/Mascot-2 project:

Discussions with the German Ministry of Economics and the German  space agency DLR spanned more than 5 years. Amongst others, we met with  State Secretary for Space and Aerospace Hinze, DLR chairman Prof. Wörner and the DLR  Program Board.  In 2009 AMSAT-DL,  in collaboration with the DLR Institute for Space Systems in Bremen, conducted two complex Concurrent Engineering  studies. They were jointly presented to the DLR program board in Köln-Porz in  2010.

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Sep 9 2012

Smartphone and Kinect Satellite Presentations at Guildford

Dr Christopher Bridges (2nd from left) discussing why space is cool on Sky News

Dr Chris Bridges recently appeared on the nationwide TV channel Sky News discussing why space is cool. On September 15-16 he will be giving two presentations to the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ.

Chris will cover the Nexus Android Smartphone amateur radio satellite STRaND-1 which will carry both a Resistojet and a Pulsed Plasma Thruster (PPT) module and STRaND-2 which comprises two 3U CubeSats that will use Microsoft Xbox Kinect controller technology for docking.

UPDATE: For videos of the two STRaND presentations see http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=10297

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Sep 9 2012

Exclusive New SDR Product Launch at AMSAT-UK Colloquium

AMSAT-UK are delighted to announce that Howard Long, G6LVB, will be present at the Colloquium this year and will be launching a new “FUNcube Dongle PRO-PLUS” during his presentation. UPDATE: For a video of the presentation see http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=10297

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