From Newsgroup: rec.radio.amateur.space

AMSAT News Service

ANS-229
August 17, 2025

In this edition:

* MESAT1 Named a Finalist in Global Satellite Contest
* 2025 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Continues
* AMSAT Organizations Continue to Challenge AST SpaceMobile Use of Ham
Radio Spectrum
* Registration Remains Open for AMSAT Symposium, Presentations Invited
* NASA Satellite May Be Destroyed On Purpose
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* ARISS News
* AMSAT Ambassador Activities
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes
news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities
of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active
interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog
and digital Amateur Radio satellites.

The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in
Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

*Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at] amsat.org <http://amsat.org>*

Sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via
the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ------------------------------
MESAT1 Named a Finalist in Global Satellite Contest

MESAT1 (MO-122), MainerCOs first research satellite developed by the
University of Maine and with collaboration from AMSAT Engineering, was a finalist for the SmallSat rCLRookie of the YearrCY Award, which
is sponsored by
the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

The public was encouraged to cast their vote online to boost MESAT1 to
victory as the top rookie small satellite mission. Voting was free and open
to everyone through August 12. MESAT1 was among seven small satellites
vying for the title.

*MO-122 (Photo: University of Maine)*

Launched into orbit on July 4, 2024, MESAT1 was developed to get students involved in space science. The cost-effective nanosatellite, which measures 11.8 inches, is outfitted with four multispectral cameras that were
designed to capture climate-related Earth imagery for experiments designed
by Maine K-12 students. An AMSAT-provided LTM-1 linear transponder provides services to amateur radio enthusiasts around the world. In October of 2024,
at the request of University of Maine, AMSAT designated MESAT1 as
MESAT1-OSCAR 122 (MO-122).

rCLAccess to space data motivates and excites students to learn funda
mental
skills in mathematics and science and helps them see the importance of STEM careers,rCY said UMaine Vice President for Research and Dean of the G
raduate
School Kody Varahramyan, who led the establishment of UMainerCOs Spac
e
Initiative. rCLBeing selected as a finalist for SmallSat Rookie of th
e Year
is a national recognition of what Maine students and their faculty
researchers can accomplish together.rCY

Finalists for the SmallSat award included teams from the University of
Arizona, the University of NebraskarCoLincoln and international missi
ons from
Senegal and Croatia. MESAT1 stands out as a mission that empowered KrC
o12
students from Falmouth High School, Fryeburg Academy and Saco Middle School
to contribute to space exploration.

The winner, announced during the 39th Annual Small Satellite Conference
from Aug. 10-13 in Salt Lake City, was CroCube the first Croatian
satellite. CroCube also operates as an amateur radio satellite with a CW
beacon and a GFSK9k6 rCo AX.25 G3RUH telemetry beacon at 436.775 MHz.

MESAT1 was designed, built and tested by students and faculty at UMaine in partnership with the University of Southern Maine, the Wells National
Estuarine Research Reserve and AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation, with support from NASA and the Maine Space Grant Consortium.
The satelliterCOs development and integration for launch was led by A
li
Abedi, who formerly served as associate vice president for research and a professor at UMaine.

This effort is part of the broader UMaine Space Initiative, which is
working to develop a skilled space workforce and grow MainerCOs prese
nce in
the space economy, including plans for a future Maine SpacePort Complex.

rCLThis recognition puts Maine on the map as a state that not only bu
ilds
satellites, but also builds opportunities rCo for students, teachers, researchers and entrepreneurs,rCY Varahramyan said.

[ANS thanks The University of Maine and smallsat.org for the above
information]
------------------------------

*Your 2025 AMSAT PresidentrCOs Club Coin Is Waiting!*
*Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight*
*Help Support GOLF and Fox Plus.*

[image: 2025 PC Coin Set]

*Join the AMSAT PresidentrCOs Club today and help *
*Keep Amateur Radio in Space! * *https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/* <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/> ------------------------------
2025 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Continues

The nomination period for the 2025 AMSAT Board of Directors Election ended
on June 15, 2025. The following candidates have been duly nominated and
their candidate statements can be found at link that follows:

Barry Baines, WD4ASW
Jerry Buxton, N|yJY
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA
Frank Karnauskas, N1UW
Douglas Tabor, N6UA

As four seats on the Board of Directors are up for election this year, the
four candidates receiving the largest number of votes shall be declared
elected to the seats. The candidate receiving the next largest number of
votes shall be declared the First Alternate. The voting period opened on
July 15, 2025 and shall conclude on September 15, 2025. Results will be announced no later that September 30, 2025.

AMSAT members may review the candidate statements and cast their ballots at https://launch.amsat.org/2025-BoD-Election

[ANS thanks Douglas Tabor, N6UA, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information
]
------------------------------

*Need new satellite antennas? *


* Purchase M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. *
*When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards* *Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.* *https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/* <https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/>
------------------------------
AMSAT Organizations Continue to Challenge AST SpaceMobile Use of Ham Radio Spectrum

Facing more than 2,500 complaints from amateurs, AST SpaceMobile has
responded by telling the FCC that it has designed its satellites to
rCLmitigate interferencerCY with amateur radio bands.

On August 5, the company replied to the U.S. Federal Communications
Commission, defending its plan to use the 430 to 440MHz radio bands outside
the U.S. to track and control its proposed fleet of 248 satellites. The
company says itrCOs proposing rCLvery limited, non-routiner
CY use of the 430 to
440MHz bands and only for launch and early orbit phases for its satellites
or rCLemergency operations when other frequency bands are unavailable
.rCY

AST SpaceMobilerCOs attempt to justify its use of the amateur radio b
and for
its satellites has done little to assuage concerns from the ham radio community.

rCLAST is again economical with the truth,rCY an amateur radio
operator in
Germany named Mario Lorenz wrote to the FCC on August 8.

The amateur radio community says AST is already using those bands. On
August 8, AMSAT-Deutschland sent a letter to the FCC that says amateur
radio users have detected signals from ASTrCOs satellites over the ra
dio
bands.

rCLThe claim is therefore either a misrepresentation or a deliberate falsehood,rCY AMSAT-Deutschland wrote. In particular, ASTrCOs B
lueWalker-3
satellite was spotted using the radio band up until July 23 as the amateur radio community began campaigning against the spectrum use.

rCLIt also raises questions about ASTrCOs technical maturity,
rCY the group added.
rCLOther large-scale satellite operators rCo such as SpaceX, wi
th over 6,000
Starlink satellites in orbit rCo appear to manage TT&C (Telemetry, Tr
acking,
and Command) functions without resorting to use of the amateur UHF band.r
CY

[ANS thanks PC Magazine for the above information. Read the full article at https://www.pcmag.com/news/ham-radio-users-explain-why-theyre-worried-about -ast-spacemobiles-satellite
]
------------------------------

------------------------------
Registration Remains Open for AMSAT Symposium, Presentations Invited

Registrations & room reservations remain available for the 43rd Annual
AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting to be held Thursday, October
16 to Sunday, October 19 at the Holiday Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport North, 1515 North 44th Street Phoenix, AZ. Early Bird registration remains
available until September 15 at https://launch.amsat.org/Events

*Photo: Holiday Inn Suites Phoenix Airport North*

Rooms for the 43rd AMSAT Annual Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting
have been going fast but more are now available. At an affordable price of
$140 per night plus tax, these rooms will go fast. More information of room reservations can be found at: https://www.amsat.org/43rd-amsat-space-symposium-and-annual-general-meeting
/

Proposals for Symposium papers and presentations are invited on any topic
of interest to the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative
title of your paper or presentation as soon as possible, with final copy submitted by October 8 for inclusion in the Symposium Proceedings.
Proposals for presentations at the Symposium do not require a paper. Presentations will be recorded and made available on AMSATrCOs YouTub
e
Channel and transcribed and published with its slides in the Proceedings. Proposals should be sent to Frank Karnauskas, N1UW via f.karnauskas [at] amsat.org

*Liam Cheney (Photo: Footstep Aerospace)*

Keynote speaker at the Symposium will be Liam Cheney, an aerospace
consultant and founder of Footstep Aerospace by AG3, LLC. Mr. Cheney
supports mission integration, strategy, and business development for the
space industry. He holds a MasterrCOs degree in Aerospace Engineering
from
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, is a certified Project Management Professional,
and a member of AMSAT.

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information.]
------------------------------
NASA Satellite That Scientists and Farmers Rely On May Be Destroyed On
Purpose

The Trump administration has asked NASA employees to draw up plans to end
at least two major satellite missions, according to current and former NASA staffers. If the plans are carried out, one of the missions would be permanently terminated, because the satellite would burn up in the
atmosphere.

The data the two missions collect is widely used, including by scientists,
oil and gas companies and farmers who need detailed information about
carbon dioxide and crop health. They are the only two federal satellite missions that were designed and built specifically to monitor
planet-warming greenhouse gases.

It is unclear why the Trump administration seeks to end the missions. The equipment in space is state of the art and is expected to function for many more years, according to scientists who worked on the missions. An official review by NASA in 2023 found that rCLthe data are of exceptionally hi
gh
qualityrCY and recommended continuing the mission for at least three
years.

Both missions, known as the Orbiting Carbon Observatories, measure carbon dioxide and plant growth around the globe. They use identical measurement devices, but one device is attached to a stand-alone satellite while the
other is attached to the International Space Station. The standalone
satellite would burn up in the atmosphere if NASA pursued plans to
terminate the mission.

Presidential budget proposals are wish lists that often bear little
resemblance to final congressional budgets. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory missions have already received funding from Congress through the end of the 2025 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Draft budgets that Congress is
currently considering for next year keep NASA funding basically flat. But itrCOs not clear whether these specific missions will receive funding
again,
or if Congress will pass a budget before current funding expires on Sept.
30.

Last week, NASA announced it will consider proposals from private companies
and universities that are willing to take on the cost of maintaining the
device that is attached to the International Space Station, as well as
another device that measures ozone in the atmosphere.

The missions are called Orbiting Carbon Observatories because they were originally designed to measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But soon
after they launched, scientists realized that they were also accidentally measuring plant growth on Earth.

Basically, when plants are growing, photosynthesis is happening in their
cells. And that photosynthesis gives off a very specific wavelength of
light. The OCO instruments in space measure that light all over the planet.

rCLNASA and others have turned this happy accident into an incredibly
valuable set of maps of plant photosynthesis around the world,rCY exp
lains
Scott Denning, a longtime climate scientist at Colorado State University
who worked on the OCO missions and is now retired. rCLLo and behold,
we also
get these lovely, high resolution maps of plant growth,rCY he says.
rCLAnd
thatrCOs useful to farmers, useful to rangeland and grazing and droug
ht
monitoring and forest mapping and all kinds of things, in addition to the
CO2 measurements.rCY

The cost of maintaining the two OCO satellite missions up in space is a
small fraction of the amount of money taxpayers already spent to design and launch the instruments. The two missions cost about $750 million to design, build and launch, according to David Crisp, a retired NASA scientist.

By comparison, maintaining both OCO missions in orbit costs about $15
million per year, Crisp says. That money covers the cost of downloading the data, maintaining a network of calibration sensors on the ground and making sure the stand-alone satellite isnrCOt hit by space debris, according
to
Crisp.

rCLJust from an economic standpoint, it makes no economic sense to te
rminate
NASA missions that are returning incredibly valuable data,rCY Crisp s
ays.

[ANS thanks National Public Radio for the above information. Read the
complete article at https://www.npr.org/2025/08/04/nx-s1-5453731/nasa-carbon-dioxide-satellite- mission-threatened
]
------------------------------

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*Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store!*


*25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards *
*Keeping Amateur Radio in Space*
*https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear* <https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear> ------------------------------
Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for August 15

Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps
in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin
files are updated daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin
files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available
for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/.

With HamTV becoming active on ISS, orbital elements are now updated twice
daily in http://www.amsat.org/tle/ at 00:18 and 12:18 UTC. The intention is
to have high quality TLE available to accurately calculate doppler shift
for the 2.935 GHz downlink. Observations comparing these TLE to those that
were caclulated based ephemerides and TLE produced by Johnson Space Center
the last time HAMTV was active are desired, write jfitzgerald [at] amsat.or
g

Assignments to some of the Tevel2 satellites have been updated to match
object numbers.

The following satellites have been removed from this weekrCOs distrib
ution:
CSIM NORAD Cat ID 43793 Decayed from orbit on or about 09 August 2025

[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the
above information]
------------------------------

*AMSAT Remove Before Flight Key Tags Now Available*


*Yes, These are the Real Thing!*
*Your $20 Donation Goes to Help Fly a Fox-Plus Satellite*
*Includes First Class Postage (Sorry rCo U.S. Addresses Only)*
*Order Today at https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-remove-before-flight-keychain <https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-remove-before-flight-keychain>* ------------------------------
ARISS NEWS

Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between
amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with
astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The
downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.

*COMPLETED*
N. Sultanov International Aerospace School, Republic of Bashkortostan,
Russia, direct via RC4P
The ISS callsign was RS|yISS
The crewmember was Sergey Ryzhikov
The ARISS mentor was RV3DR
Contact was successful for Mon 2025-08-11 07:51 UTC
Congratulations to the N. Sultanov International Aerospace School students, Sergey, mentor RV3DR, and ground station RC4P!

*UPCOMING*
Youngsters On The Air, Jambville, France, Direct via FX5YOTA
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember is Mike Fincke KE5AIT
The ARISS mentor is F6ICS
Contact is go for: Tue 2025-08-19 09:18:53 UTC 82 deg
Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v.RkTcR6Njo

NixderStelar (formerly Gemini-1), Lima, Peru, telebridge via VK4KHZ
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Zena Cardman KJ5CMN
The ARISS mentor is VE6JBJ
Contact is go for: Wed 2025-08-20 14:08:05 UTC 81 deg

The crossband repeater continues to be *ACTIVE* (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know.

The packet system is also *ACTIVE* (145.825 MHz up & down).

As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios
are turned off as part of the safety protocol. *Next expected outage:* Ham
TV (2395.00 MHz down) will power down on Monday 18 August at 14:15 UTC and power up on Wednesday 20 August at approximately 12:35 UTC.

Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own
orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed
time.

The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html

The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html

[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors
for the above information]
------------------------------
AMSAT Ambassador Activities

AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.

[image: AMSAT Ambassador News Logo]

*August 16-17, 2025*
*Huntsville Hamfest 2025*
Von Braun Center South Hall
700 Monroe St. SW
Huntsville, AL 35801
https://hamfest.org/
N8DEU, WD4ASW, KE4AL, W4FCL

*August 21-24, 2025*
*Northeast HamXposition (HamX) & New England ARRL Convention*
Best Western Royal Plaza & Trade Center
181 Boston Post Road W
Marlborough, MA 01752
http://www.HamX.org
W1EME, WD4ASW, WB1FJ

*September 6, 2025*
*Greater Louisville Hamfest*
Paroquet Springs Conference Centre
395 Paroquet Springs Drive
Shepherdsville, KY 40165 https://louisvillehamfest.wixsite.com/louisvillehamfest
W4FCL

*October 11, 2025*
*North Star Radio Convention*
Hennepin Technical College
9000 Brooklyn Boulevard
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445
https://northstarradio.org/
AD|yHJ

*October 16, 17, 18, 19, 2025*
*AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting and 43rd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting*
Holiday Inn & Suites Phoenix Airport North
1515 North 44th Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85008
Details at https://www.amsat.org/2025-symposium/

[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director rCo AMSAT Ambassador Program,
for the
above information]
------------------------------
Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ AMSAT-Deutschland will host the Bochum Space Days event from September 19
to 21, 2025. In cooperation with the Bochum Observatory, AMSAT-Deutschland
e.V. is offering a varied and informative program aimed at AMSAT members
and all space enthusiasts. The focus is on current developments and future prospects for national and international amateur radio satellites and other space projects. Lectures, presentations and exciting discussions will
provide participants with valuable insights into the latest technologies, missions and research projects in space travel. See https://amsat-dl.org/en/save-the-date-bochum-space-days-2025/ for details.
(ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.)

+ If you happen to read Japanese, the latest *JAMSAT Newsletter* No.318 includes JAMSATrCOs next Transponder Board Project rCLBlueberry
JAM,rCY as well
as an invitation to HamFair2025 in Tokyo next weekend. See it at https://bit.ly/43kOW7v (ANS thanks Mikio Mouri, JA3GEP, *JAMSAT Newsletter* Editor, for the above information.)

+ The September 2025 issue of *QST Magazine* contains a review of the
Halibut Electronics EggNOGS Antenna. The reviewer recommends this low-cost rCLeggbeaterrCY antenna array primarily for receiving in unatte
nded operations,
such as weather satellite and SatNOGS ground stations. However, the kit has options for low power uplink transmissions, as well. The detailed review appears on pages 45-49 of the magazine, or see
https://electronics.halibut.com/ for the manufacturerrCOs website. (A
NS
thanks *QST Magazine* for the above information.)

+ NASA Astronaut James A. Lovell (Captain, USN, Ret.), veteran of the
Gemini VII, Gemini XII, and Apollo 8 missions before becoming the Mission Commander for the nearly disastrous Apollo 13 mission to the Moon, died
August 7 at the age of 97. Lovell joined NASA in 1962 as part of its second group of astronauts. He was selected as backup commander to Neil Armstrong
for the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, and would have been the fifth
human to walk on the moon, had it not been for the Apollo 13 rCLprobl
em.rCY
(ANS thanks NASA for the above information.)

+ SpaceX is now offering Starship flights to Mars, with Italy signing up as
the first customer to send payloads. However, there is no announced start
date for providing the service. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information.)

+ Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have found strong evidence of a giant planet orbiting a star in the stellar system
closest to our own Sun. At just four light-years away from Earth, the Alpha Centauri triple star system has long been a compelling target in the search
for worlds beyond our solar system. If confirmed, the planet would be the closest to Earth that orbits in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star.
However, because the planet candidate is a gas giant, scientists say it
would not support life as we know it. (ANS thanks the European Space Agency
for the above information.)

+ A newly released report states that in 2023, LIGO, the Laser
Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory at CalTech, detected the most massive black hole merger yet, in which rapidly spinning black holes with masses of roughly 100 Mrye and 140 Mrye (Mrye+ solar
mass) merged to form a 225
Mrye black hole. Notice that 100 + 140 >40 Mrye, but the fi
nal object weighs
a meager 225 Suns, meaning that 15 Mrye were converted directly into gravitational energy in this event, totaling 3 x 1048 Joules rCo- mor
e energy
than the combined stellar output of every star in the visible universe in
that moment! (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information.) ------------------------------

Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

* Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
* Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at
one-half the standard yearly rate.
* Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status
shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary
years in this status.
* Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.

Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

This weekrCOs ANS Editor, Mark Johns, K|yJM
mjohns [at] amsat.org

ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002


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