NASA to Name Astronauts Assigned to First Boeing, SpaceX Flights

NASA to Name Astronauts Assigned to First Boeing, SpaceX Flights

NASA will announce on Friday, Aug. 3, the astronauts assigned to crew the first flight tests and missions of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon, and begin a new era in American spaceflight. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will preside over the event, which will begin at 11 a.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

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NASA Breaking News

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Flown Orion Spacecraft Visits Washington, DC, for Made in America Showcase

Flown Orion Spacecraft Visits Washington, DC, for Made in America Showcase

NASA’s Orion spacecraft that flew Exploration Flight Test-1 on Dec. 5, 2014, is seen after being uncovered in preparation for being moved onto the White House complex, Saturday, July 21, 2018, in Washington, DC. More than 1,000 companies across the country manufactured or contributed elements to the spacecraft.

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NASA Image of the Day

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Students learn about Amateur Satellites at College Workshops

Students learn about Amateur Satellites at College Workshops

To popularise Ham Radio in western India two events were conducted back to back recently by Rajesh Vagadia VU2EXP Regional Coordinator AMSAT-INDIA.

LDRP College Gandhinagar - VU2EXP 2018-07-12

LDRP College Gandhinagar

LDRP College Gandhinagar

‘Ham Radio for GenX’ – Full day workshop with demo was conducted at LDRP College Gandhinagar (Gujarat – India) on 12th July 2018. More than 70 EC students + faculties participated in this awareness event.

Program was inaugurated with kind presence of dignitaries from
GIAR, LDRP, IEEE, ISRO & AMSAT-INDIA.

From GIAR, OM Pravinbhai Valera VU2CPV (Joint Secretary) & OM Jagdishbhai Pandya VU2JGI (General Secretary) blessed us with their kind presence.

Presentation on ‘Antennas for Space Application’ was conducted by Dr. Ramesh Kumar Gupta (SAC-ISRO).

Ham Radio history & Introductory session was nicely conducted by Jagdishbhai Pandya VU2JGI with several interesting examples.

Thereafter Rajesh Vagadia VU2EXP gave good overview on Satellite Communication, Digital Communication, APRS, RDF, IOTA, SSTV & RTL-SDR etc. technology.

Live demo of SSTV was conducted which was very much enjoyed by the students & faculties. VHF demo with mock drill was simulated by VU2EXP Rajesh, VU2JGI Jagdishbhai, VU3IKI Ke Ke, VU3EXP Sakshi & team.

Ham Radio stuff were exhibited incl. VHF/UHF Rigs, PSU, Antennas, Digital Interfaces, Cables, SWR Meter, attenuator, FUNcube satellite model,
QSL Cards, Awards, etc stuff was displayed for the knowledge of the students.

We also got nice support from other fellow hams incl. VU3DVA Deepakbhai, VU3GLY Priyesh, VU3DSJ Dipakbhai, SWL Abhigna etc team.

We had guest presence of Dr Narendra Chauhan Sir (IPR) & Prof. N. N. Jani Sir in the event.

I am thankful to Prof. Dave Sir (HOD – EC), Prof. Mendhe Sir (EC), Mr. Nilesh Makwana (IEEE) to nicely coordinate & support the event.

Program concluded in hope to have good number of future hams from the Institute.

LD College Ahmedabad - VU2EXP 2018-07-13

LD College Ahmedabad

LD College Ahmedabad

‘Ham Radio Practical Insight’ titled workshop was conducted at LD College Ahmedabad (Gujarat – India) on 13th July 2018 in afternoon session. More than 65 EC students + faculties participated.

Dignitaries from IEEE, ISRO, LD & AMSAT-INDIA inaugurated the workshop. It was our great pleasure to have chief guest presence of Shri Rajeev Jyoti Sir (Dy. Director SAC – ISRO) & Chair (IEEE) Gujarat chapter in this Ham Radio Workshop.

Rajesh Vagadia VU2EXP explained the latest technology/modes ham world uses & gave quick practical Demos for chief guest. Demo includes CW, Text, Image & Voice transmission/reception with simple VHF Radio sets. The simple experiment techniques used were described. Students were surprised to learn the potential of Amateur Radio & experts appreciate such public demos.

We got nice support from team members VU3EXP Sakshi, VU2UTZ Dinyarji, VU3PMT Mahendrabhai, VU3GLY Priyesh, SWL Ketanbhai during demo & whole event.

Thereafter detailed presentation was given on interesting ham events, digital communication, Satellite Communication, ARISS program, ASOC licencing procedure, APRS, SSTV witth RTL-SSDR etc.

Session remain very interactive with lots of queries which were answered very well by VU2EXP. Also mini Ham Radio exhibition was keenly enjoyed by the audience.

I am thankful to Prof. Usha Madam (HOD – EC), Prof. Arun Sir (EC), Mr. Nilesh Makwana (IEEE) to nicely coordinate & support the event.

Small spark of Ham Radio was ignited, hope we get good number of Hams from the participants, in the future.

Thanks & 73’s

VU2EXP
Rajesh P. Vagadia – Rajkot
Regional Coordinator
West India Zone
AMSAT-INDIA

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m5aka

AMSAT-UK

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Rodent Research Seeks to Benefit Astronauts and Earthlings

Rodent Research Seeks to Benefit Astronauts and Earthlings

NASA astronaut Drew Feustel
NASA astronaut Drew Feustel works inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox inspecting mice being observed as part of the Rodent Research-7 experiment.

Life science took precedence today aboard the International Space Station as the crew explored how microgravity impacts rodent physiology. The space research can help scientists improve astronaut health and treat humans on Earth.

Four Expedition 56 crew members worked together throughout the day examining mice for the Rodent Research-7 study. The experiment observes how microbes affect the gastrointestinal, immune, metabolic, circadian, and sleep systems. Results may help doctors implement programs to keep astronauts healthy on deep space missions. Patients on Earth may also benefit from newer advanced therapies that treat internal disorders.

Commander Drew Feustel joined Flight Engineers Serena Auñón-Chancellor, Ricky Arnold and Alexander Gerst for the rodent study on Tuesday. The orbital lab researchers examined bone structure, collected blood samples and processed and stowed biological samples in science freezers.

Those samples will be returned to Earth inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft Aug. 3 for analysis on Earth. Dragon will be packed with station hardware and research gear when it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean. It will be retrieved by SpaceX and NASA personnel for examination by engineers and scientists.

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Mark Garcia

ISS

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ISS SSTV activation July 30-31

ISS SSTV activation July 30-31

ISS SSTV MAI-75 image 9/12 received by Chertsey Radio Club on Baofeng handheld

ISS SSTV MAI-75 image 9/12 received by Chertsey Radio Club on Baofeng handheld

The Russian cosmonauts on the International Space Station are expected to activate amateur radio Slow Scan Television (SSTV) transmissions on 145.800 MHz FM during Monday and Tuesday, July 30-31.

The Inter-MAI-75 SSTV experiment should be active on:
• Monday, July 30 from 16:00-19:30 UT
• Tuesday, July 31 from 13:25-19:15 UT

The SSTV images will be transmitted on 145.800 MHz FM using the Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver located in the Russian ISS Service module. It is expected they will use the PD-120 SSTV format.

Note the ISS transmissions use the 5 kHz deviation FM standard rather than the narrow 2.5 kHz used in Europe. If your transceiver has selectable FM filters try using the wider filter. Handheld transceivers generally have a single wide filter fitted as standard and you should get good results outdoors using just a 1/4 wave whip antenna.

ISS SSTV links for tracking and decoding software
https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/iss-sstv/

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m5aka

AMSAT-UK

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