Elementary School's SSTV CubeSat ISS Deployment

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After postponements earlier this year, the STMSat-1 CubeSat constructed by pupils at St Thomas More (STM) Cathedral School in Arlington, Virginia, was deployed Monday 16 May 2016.

The spacecraft is equipped with a slow-scan TV (SSTV) payload that will transmit on the 70 centimeter Amateur Radio band (437.800 MHz).

The school won a NASA competition for the launch. The satellite is the first to be designed and built by grade schoolers, who have been supported by NASA technical advisors and local radio amateurs.

Transported to the ISS in December by an Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft, the kit-built satellite first had been scheduled for release in mid-February, but that event was postponed until early March, before being put on hold again.

"The STM Sat-1 mission is to perform Earth observation and engage grade-school students around the world as remote Mission Operation Centers," the STMSat-1 website explains. The satellite project is part of the school's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education initiatives. St Thomas More includes students from pre-kindergarten through grade 8. The project aims to engage other schools around the world as "Remote Mission Operation Centers".

NASA's Technology Demonstration Office provided the school with a mobile "clean room" to ensure that the construction phase met with strict guidelines and standards for launch and deployment from the ISS. The space agency also provided the school with an antenna, so the school can receive the SSTV images and temperature readings the satellite sends back. The students already have tested their CubeSat by sending it aloft on a tethered balloon.

The SSTV camera onboard STMSat-1 will transmit a Martin-2 image every 30 seconds. It will not transmit a beacon signal, however. The youngsters are hoping it will send back images of Earth as seen from space. The transmitter runs 3 W, and there is no onboard data storage capability.

STMSat-1 has an estimated lifetime of at least 9 months.

STMSAT-1 - http://www.stmsat-1.org/rmoc/

IARU - Custodian of Operating Standards

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Over the last eight years, the booklet 'Ethics and Operating Procedures for the Radio Amateur' has become a respected work describing the best standards of operating on the amateur bands 

Translated into most major languages, the booklet by John Devoldere, ON4UN and Mark Demeuleneere, ON4WW, is a valuable reference work for all radio amateurs.

Mark and John recently contacted IARU, explaining that they felt it appropriate for IARU to become the custodian of the booklet into the future, with the scope to adapt and update it to ensure it remains relevant and current. 

The IARU Administrative Council accepted this offer with gratitude to John and Mark for the work they have put into the document. 

IARU will now carry forward the work in future years to ensure its continuing relevance and currency.

Booklet - http://www.hamradio-operating-ethics.org/

IARU http://iaru.org/

Radio Hams Prepare Florida Hurricane Season

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Hurricane season is approaching in Florida, and Amateur / Ham Radio Operators are getting ready to support.

Operators are emphasising the importance of the tests, noting that when the power and internet go out, ham radios are a dependable source of communication.

“It’s basically resource allocation. Let’s say there are 5,000 people at the shelter in Palm Beach, and we need to get them food, we need to get them water, the roads are out on I-95, people can’t travel the roads.”
— Barry Porter KB1PA

These type of tests take place three to four times a year.    

Porter says his ham radios are extremely useful during powerful hurricanes where some areas lose power for days.

News Report - 
http://www.wptv.com/news/state/statewide-tests-underway-for-ham-radios-as-hurricane-season-nears