Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Jun 19 2020 08:51 am
Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2225, for Friday, June 19, 2020
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2225, with a release date of
Friday, June 19, 2020, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. High-flying hams walk in space. Radio operators
prep for a virtual ham expo -- and how about a summer camp for
youngsters Down Under? All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline
Report Number 2225, comes your way right now.
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BILLBOARD CART
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MUST-SEE TV: HIGH-FLYING HAMS WALK IN SPACE
NEIL/ANCHOR: We begin this week's report with an amateur radio TV event
you won't want to miss: Two high-flying hams taking a walk together in
space. Andy Morrison, K9AWM, has those details.
ANDY: NASA TV plans to have live coverage on Friday, the 26th of June,
and again on Wednesday, July 1st, as NASA astronauts Robert Behnken,
KE5GGX, and Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR, venture outside the International
Space Station, to replace batteries on one of the ISS power channels.
It's a power upgrade that swaps out the old nickel-hydrogen batteries
with lithium-ion batteries that were delivered last month to the station
on a Japanese cargo ship.
There will be a news briefing on June 24th at the Johnson Space Center
in Texas, before the two spacewalks take place. The live broadcasts of
the walks will be seen on NASA Television, and the agency's website,
and it is expected that the walks could last as long as seven hours.
Chris is the commander of Expedition 63, and will be identifiable by
the red stripes on his spacesuit. Doug joined the crew in May, following
the historic launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon 'Endeavour' spacecraft.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Andy Morrison, K9AWM.
(NASA)
**
SOLAR ORBITER MAKES CLOSEST APPROACH TO SUN
NEIL/ANCHOR: There are even more happenings above the earth - and this
one concerns the sun. Kevin Trotman, N5PRE, explains.
KEVIN: With all our eyes on the sun, and the first twinklings of Solar
Cycle 25, it appears we're getting some big help into solar insights
from the Solar Orbiter that was launched earlier this year by the
European Space Agency from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
On Monday June 15th, the orbiter was reported to have made its first
perihelion - the point in the orbit that is closest to the sun - in its
mission to capture detailed imagery. In this case, that distance is 77
million kilometres, or half the distance between the sun and our Earth.
Although the Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018 by NASA makes approaches
closer to the sun, it does not have telescopes to capture such direct
imagery.
The sun-exploring spacecraft, a joint venture between the European Space
Agency and NASA, has 10 scientific instruments on board, including six
telescopes, to help with its 9-year mission. A posting on the ESA website
said that the images are to be released in mid-July, and are described
as the closest images of the sun to ever be taken. Scientists hope the
probe will gather additional details about solar winds, flares, magnetic
fields, and atmosphere. It will also attempt to capture the first images
of its polar regions.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman, N5PRE.
(ESA)
**
NEW ENTITY CREATED TO OVERSEE ASTRONAUT-STUDENT QSOS
NEIL/ANCHOR: Although there's always excitement in space whenever
astronauts talk to school kids back home on Earth, there's been some
space-related excitement down here as well recently - and Paul Braun,
WD9GCO, tells us why.
PAUL: There's a new independent organization in the United States that
will be connecting students with astronauts aboard the International
Space Station via ham radio - and part of its name might sound familiar.
The group is called ARISS-USA. The nonprofit is independent from the
more familiar ARISS International, with which it will continue its
collaboration on some projects. ARISS-USA's main mission, however, is
to arrange for ISS astronauts' contact with students via amateur radio
and to encourage education in science, technology, engineering the arts
and math. Its new status now makes it eligible to apply for grants, and
to receive proposals for future ISS contacts.
ARISS-USA's Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said the move to independent
organization from a working group, will also allow the entity to
apply for grants, and to sign agreements.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO.
