AMSAT South Africa has announced that the 2023 AMSAT SA Space Symposium will be held on Saturday, 23 September 2023.
It will be a virtual event opening participation to people anywhere in the world. The event will be hosted on the Bluejeans platform from 09:00 – 15:00 SAST (07:00 – 13:00 UTC). Those registered will receive an email with logon details.
The aim of the AMSAT SA Space symposium is to take amateur radio into space, encourage more amateur satellite operation, development, and research.
Registration is required and will be free but a donation to the AMSAT SA managed SARL Next Generation Beacon fund would be appreciated. Registration opened 24 August at bit.ly/45SynOJ
Call for papers
Proposals for papers are invited. Send a summary of the proposed paper in MS word to admin@amsatsa.org.za. The closing date for paper proposals is 4 September 2023. The final programme will be published on on 6 September 2023.
AMSAT-EA will be on the air on all available satellites with the callsigns AM1SAT and AM2023SAT from September 4th to 17th, 2023 to celebrate the fourth edition of the AM1SAT trophy contest as part of the URE activities within the IberRadio 2023 event, the largest one in the world of amateur radio in Spain and Portugal (http://www.iberradio.es), and which will open its doors during the weekend of 16-17 in Avila, a city near Madrid, capital of Spain.
The AMSAT-EA operators will activate the aforementioned callsigns from the different states and autonomous cities of Spain during the said period of time and with the objective in this edition to promote contacts with the maximum number of them.
As part of this activity and to encourage participation, SILVER and GOLD diplomas will be available for the different modalities of satellites according to their footprint and orbital height, LEO, MEO (IO-117 satellite) and GEO (QO-100 satellite), as well as a trophy for the station that works the greatest number of states in the total number of available satellites and another trophy for the one that contacts the greatest number of states on the satellite with the largest footprint and coverage (in this case, IO-117). These trophies will be physically sent at no cost to the winners.
The third edition of the AM1SAT satellite contest, in 2021, finished with 1327 QSOs including GEO and LEO contacts, with 57 different radio-countries, using 20 satellites and with the participation of 419 different competitors (callsigns).
According to IARU two new satellites, Veronica and ROM-3, has been coordinated and are planned to launch during 2023. Following are info from ANS-218:
Veronika From the Technical University of Kosice, Veronika is a 1U CubeSat scheduled for launch on a Falcon 9 launcher on the Transporter 9 mission in October 2023. The satellite will be equipped with a 24/7 digipeater on two different bands, as well as experimental SSDV transmissions.
The satellite also has an education and outreach mission in that it is planned to involve Slovak grammar and high schools and to transmit special CW and AX.25 messages on several special occasions. From a platform perspective, the satellite will be equipped with a novel ADCS subsystem, including electromagnetic actuators and a GNSS receiver. This will also help to identify the satellite during the first days and weeks. The satellite will communicate o using Spacemanic’s well-known Murgas transceivers (BDSat-1, BDSat-2, Planetum-1).
Altogether, Veronika will provide: AX.25 telemetry; a CW beacon; a digipeater; AX.25 & CW messages on special occasions for community engagement; Experimental SSDV transmissions; and SATNOGS integration, decoder and dashboard. A downlink on 436.680 MHz has been coordinated and will use 9k6 G3RUH AX.25 and a CW beacon. Planning a SpaceX launch on Transporter 9 mission in Q4 2023 to a 500/600km polar orbit . More info at https://om3ksi.tuke.sk/en/home/
ROM-3 From the Romanian Radioamateur Federation, ROM-3 is a 50 x 50 x100mm picosat with three missions and objectives. Its primary mission is to act as a digital amateur radio repeater. Its secondary mission is to transmit low-resolution SSDV images in a GFSK Mode. The tertiary mission is to transmit a CW beacon that will help amateur radio operators detect the presence of the satellite and measure basic properties of the signals such as its strength, fading due to spin, Doppler to measure speed, etc. A downlink on 436.235 MHz has been coordinated for 20 wpm CW, 500bps GFSK telemetry and 5kbps GFSK SSDV. Planning a SpaceX launch in October or November 2023 into a 500km polar orbit. More info at https://rom-space.ro
LEDSAT is a 1U CubeSat by Sapienza University of Rome (S5Lab research team) and University of Michigan. It has the same AX.25 digipeater function as IO-117 (Greencube).
It has a very strong downlink and good RX ears. This is the frequency I has been using (+/- doppler): TX (Uplink): 435.3087 MHz RX (Downlink): 435.1885 MHz
I succeeded digipeating with the lowest power settings on the IC-9700 at 5 degree elevation.
The URESAT-1 satellite, also known as HADES-B according to its ITU designation, successfully launched into space as part of the SpaceX Transporter-8 mission from Vandenberg AFB on Monday, June 12. The satellite is a joint effort between AMSAT-EA, URE (the Spanish equivalent of ARRL), private companies, and universities.
The URESAT-1 satellite, contained within the D-Orbit ION Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV), was not deployed directly from the Falcon-9 rocket. Instead, approximately one hour and twenty minutes after launch, the Falcon-9 released the OTV. URESAT-1 was deployed from the OTV at approximately 12:10 UTC on June 22, 2023. As of this writing, signals have not yet been received from the satellite.
One of the primary objectives of URESAT-1 is to serve as an FM voice and FSK data repeater. Equipped with a Slow Scan Television (SSTV) camera, the satellite will transmit live images as well as stored images at regular intervals. It also features a chess game, enabling players on Earth to engage in a game against the satellite. Periodically, the satellite will transmit updates on the state of the game, including the chess board, the last movement made, and whether the next move belongs to the players or the satellite.
The specified frequencies for communication with URESAT-1 are as follows: for uplink transmissions, 145.975 MHz or 145.925 MHz (auxiliary frequency) using FM voice without subtone, FSK 50 bps, AFSK, AX.25, APRS 1200/2400 bps. For downlink transmissions, the frequency is set at 436.888 MHz, and modes include FM voice, CW, FSK 50 bps telemetry, SSTV Robot 36, and a voice beacon with the callsign AO4URE.
To provide further information regarding URESAT-1’s transmissions, the AMSAT-EA organization has made available a comprehensive document that can be accessed at the following link: https://www.amsat-ea.org/app/download/13366685/AMSAT+EA+-+URESAT-1+Transmissions+description.pdf
For those interested in decoding the telemetry, a Linux x86/ARM decoder is available for download at the following link: https://www.amsat-ea.org/app/download/13395017/URESAT-1_telemetry_decoder_Linux_X86_ARM_v1.0.zip
A sample file containing the audio of a telemetry file can be found here: https://www.amsat-ea.org/app/download/13398144/URESAT-1_sample_FSK_telemetry-chessboard_packet.wav
If URESAT-1 operates as intended, the project team plans to release a Linux program that will allow players to send their chess moves to the satellite, further enhancing the interactive experience.
[ANS thanks Félix Páez, EA4GQS, AMSAT-EA President for the above information]
