October 5, 2025
In this edition:
- AMSAT 43rd Space Symposium Banquet Reservations Close Thursday, October 9, 2025
- ARISS Announces SSTV Event Begins October 3, 2025
- 43rd Annual AMSAT Symposium Speakers List Announced
- Four US Schools/Organizations Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process
- A Review of the futureGEO Workshop 2025 in Bochum
- VUCC & DXCC Satellite Standings October 2025
- GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers October 2025 Rankings
- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for October 3, 2025
- ARISS News
- AMSAT Ambassador Activities
- Satellite Shorts From All Over
The AMSAT(R) 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 [dot] org .
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AMSAT 43rd Space Symposium Banquet Reservations Close Thursday, October 9, 2025
Those planning to attend the banquet at the 43rd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting must have their reservation made no later than Thursday, October 9, 2025.
The banquet menu offers the following buffet features:
- Tossed Garden Salad
- Herb Encrusted Chicken Breast
- Grilled Salmon with Cilantro Ginger Crust
- Grilled Sirloin with Wild Mushrooms
- Rice Pilaf
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Roasted Seasonal Vegetables
- Seasonal Cheesecake
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Coffee and Tea
The keynote speaker for the banquet is Liam Cheney, PMP. Liam is an aerospace consultant and founder of Footstep Aerospace by AG3, LLC, where he supports mission integration, strategy, and business development for the space industry. Over the past decade, he has contributed to the successful launch and deployment of numerous CubeSat missions, including many flown through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI), where he previously served as a Mission Manager. He has helped launch multiple AMSAT-supported missions during his time at NASA, Tyvak, and SRI International. Liam also served as the launch services Mission Manager for PREFIRE, which launched in 2024 on back-to-back Rocket Lab Electron flights to study polar heat loss and improve climate modeling.
He holds a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he authored a thesis on safety standards for CubeSat propulsion systems and contributed to the university’s CubeSat Program. A member of AMSAT, Liam lives in Kansas City with his wife and two children and enjoys astrophotography and craft coffee.
Regrettably, walk-in registrations for the banquet cannot be accepted at the Symposium.
Make your reservation today at https://launch.amsat.org/Events .
[ANS thanks Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, AMSAT Board of Directors, for the above information.]
Your 2025 AMSAT President’s Club Coin Is Waiting!
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight
Help Support GOLF and Fox-Plus.
Join the AMSAT President’s Club today and help
Keep Amateur Radio in Space!
https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/
ARISS SSTV Event Runs Through October 20, 2025
The ARISS team is working towards two short SSTV activations for October 2025. Both of these are expected to start on a Friday and end on the following Monday.
The first event is ARISS’ traditional celebration of the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite in 1957. The SSTV activation started on Friday, October 3 and will run to end on Monday, October 6. SSTV will be paused for a short time (~ 60 minutes) on Saturday October 4 for a special student voice contact.
The second SSTV campaign is tentatively scheduled to start on Friday, October 17, with a short pause (~60 minutes) for a special student contact on Saturday, October 18, and resume until completion on Monday, October 20.
This interval roughly coincides with the International Scouting Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) and the SSTV image theme is expected to deal with Scouting.
ARISS expects to offer separate electronic award diplomas for participants who receive at least one image from a campaign and submit it to the SSTV gallery.
Tentative times for the first event are:
2025-10-03 1140 UTC start
2025-10-04 1000 UTC pause for a school event
2025-10-04 1100 UTC resume
2025-10-06 TBD UTC stop
[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.]
43rd Annual AMSAT Symposium Speakers List Announced
The 43rd Annual AMSAT Space Symposium has an impressive list of presentations scheduled for October 17 and October 18.
Friday, October 17*
| Start | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 PM | Introduction/Announcements | |
| 1:05 PM | AMSAT President | Welcome |
| 1:15 PM | Cameron Castillo, KJ7ILB | ASCENT Team Propulsion |
| 1:45 PM | Jim McCullers, WA4CWI | Oscar to OsTrax |
| 2:15 PM | Andrew Robinson, KA3WDW | FoxPlus Mechanical Layout & Design |
| 3:00 PM | Heimir Thor Sverrisson, W1ANT | Extending Command and Control for GOLF |
| 3:30 PM | Frank Bauer, KA3HDO | ARISS |
| 4:00 PM | Frank Karnauskas, N1UW | Youth Initiative |
| 4:30 PM | Jim White, WD0E | ARDC |
Saturday, October 18*
| Start | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 AM | Alan Johnston, KU2Y | CubeSatSim Update & Demonstration |
| 9:00 AM | Agastya Bose, KJ5MSH | CubeSatSim |
| 9:15 AM | Larry Ryan, W7DGP | CubeSatSim |
| 9:30 AM | Frederic Raab, KK6NOW | Bridging Orbit and Classroom: SatNOGS/CubeSatSim |
| 10:15 AM | Burns Fisher, WB1FJ | A New Use for Fox & MESAT-1 Whole Orbit Data Algorithm |
| 10:45 AM | Burns Fisher, WB1FJ | Telemetry for FoxPlus & GOLF CubeSats |
| 11:15 AM | Kipton Moravec, AE5IB | GOLF-TEE Electrical Power Supply (EPS) |
| 1:00 PM | Jerry Buxton, N0JY | Engineering / GOLF-TEE Update |
| 2:00 PM | Mike Moore, K4MVM | FoxPlus Update |
| 2:30 PM | AMSAT President | Annual General Meeting |
* All times are Mountain Standard Time (UTC-7). Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings Time.
The presentations will be live streamed on AMSAT’s You Tube Channel, recorded and made available for viewing at a later time.
You can view the complete Symposium schedule at https://www.amsat.org/43rd-amsat-space-symposium-and-annual-general-meeting/ .
[ANS thanks Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, AMSAT Board of Directors, for the above information.]
Four US Schools/Organizations Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased to announce the US schools/host organizations newly selected for 2026 ARISS contacts. A total of 4 of the submitted proposals during the recent proposal window have been accepted to move forward in the processes of planning to host a scheduled amateur radio contact with crew on the ISS.
The ARISS program anticipates that NASA will be able to provide scheduling opportunities for the 4 US host organizations during the Jan 2026 – June 2026 time period. They are now at work starting to implement their 4–6 month education plan which was outlined in their proposal. These STEAM based educational activities help prepare students for their contact as well as create an on-going exploration and interest in aerospace and amateur radio topics. They are also completing an acceptable equipment plan that demonstrates their ability to execute the ham radio contact. Once their equipment plan is approved by ARISS, the final selected schools/organizations will be scheduled as their availability and flexibility match up with the scheduling opportunities offered by NASA.
The schools and host organizations are:
- ASU STEM Preparatory Academy Mesa, AZ
- Conn Magnet Elementary School Raleigh, NC
- The Center for Creativity, Innovation, and Discovery Providence, UT
- EcoTarium Worcester, MA
The primary goal of the ARISS program is to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activities and raise their awareness of space communications, radio communications, space exploration, and related areas of study and career possibilities.
[ANS thanks ARISS 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/
A Review of the futureGEO Workshop 2025 in Bochum
On September 19, 2025, the futureGEO workshop took place under the radome of the Bochum Observatory. Organized by AMSAT-DL with the support of ESA, the event brought together international experts, representatives of amateur radio organizations and dedicated radio amateurs who had previously declared their active participation in an appeal and submitted corresponding proposals. In the spring, AMSAT-DL had invited potential interested parties as part of an RFEI. The aim was to build on the experience gained with QO-100 and to jointly define the first concrete mission ideas for a future amateur radio payload in geostationary orbit.
The workshop was held as a hybrid event. The group was made up of one half who were present on site and the other half who took part online via ZOOM. Andrew Glasbrenner, K04MA, AMSAT VP – Operations represented AMSAT-USA at the meeting.
The purpose of the workshop was to collect, cluster and prioritize ideas:
- Mission & Services – Which communication services and experiments should a new GEO payload enable?
- Payload & antennas – What technical solutions are conceivable?
- Ground station & operation – How can control and operation be organized?
- User segment – Who should have access and how?
In a concluding reflection among the participants, it became clear how much QO-100 has revitalized and enriched the amateur radio community:
- Affordable entry into microwave communication with low-cost SDRs and LNBs.
- Development of open source software such as DVB-S2 encoders and decoders.
- Educational projects from schools to schools contacts with Antarctica and other events.
The participants hope that radio amateurs can be even more involved in the construction of the hardware of a futureGEO with appropriate personal contribution, transparency and participation than was possible with QO-100 due to NDAs with the manufacturers and owners of the parent satellite.
The next steps are clear: The mission ideas developed in the workshop will be further concretized and should be available by the end of 2025 in the form of 1-3 consolidated mission concepts that are both technically exciting and attractive to the international amateur radio community and must also be technically feasible.
Read the entire story at https://amsat-dl.org/en/review-futuregeo-workshop-2025-in-bochum/ .
[ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.]
VUCC & DXCC Satellite Standings October 2025
VUCC Satellite Standings for October 2025
VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for September 1, 2025 to October 1, 2025
| JK2XXK | 1103 | 1208 |
|---|---|---|
| XE1AO | 1177 | 1185 |
| HB9AOF | 907 | 1016 |
| IK3ITB | 900 | 1000 |
| KQ4DO | 952 | 983 |
| W8LR | 916 | 919 |
| KS1G | 754 | 768 |
| LY4AA | 670 | 729 |
| LA6OP | 632 | 663 |
| W0JW | 341 | 654 |
| HB9GWJ | 602 | 631 |
| KO9A | 545 | 547 |
| AB1OC | 476 | 479 |
| K3HPA | 400 | 425 |
| N4QWF | 350 | 376 |
| K5WO | 304 | 326 |
| OH3DP | 256 | 300 |
| AA6DY | New | 167 |
| JA9OJM | 128 | 151 |
| WB5TX | 135 | 143 |
| S21DX | New | 128 |
| KM6HB | New | 104 |
| W5QZ | New | 102 |
Congratulations to the new VUCC Satellite holders.
AA6DY New 167
S21DX New 128
KM6HB New 104
W5QZ New 102
S21DX is first VUCC Satellite holder from NL51
DXCC Satellite Standings for October 2025
DXCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for September 1, 2025 to October 1, 2025.
| OE9DGV | 215 | 217 |
|---|---|---|
| HB9RYZ | 164 | 166 |
| LA6OP | 154 | 159 |
| HB9GWJ | 143 | 150 |
| G4BWP | 110 | 134 |
| F6EXV | New | 114 |
| I4DOR | 109 | 113 |
| US0SY | New | 101 |
| 9A1CAL | New | 100 |
| KQ4DO | New | 100 |
Congratulations to the new DXCC Satellite holders.
F6EXV New 114
US0SY New 101
9A1CAL New 100
KQ4DO New 100
9A1CAL is first DXCC Satellite holder from Croatia and JN86
[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ, for the above information.]
GridMasterMap Satellite Top 100 Rovers October 2025 Rankings
The October 2025 rankings for the Top 100 Rovers (Mixed LEO/MEO/GEO) in satellite operations, as determined by @GridMasterMap on Twitter, has been released. The ranking is determined by the number of grids and DXCC entities activated, taking into account only those grids where a minimum number of QSOs logged on the gridmaster.fr website have been validated by a third party. Grid numbers do not directly reflect the exact number of activations. Satellite operators are encouraged to upload their LoTW satellite contacts to https://gridmaster.fr in order to provide more accurate data.
Updated: 2025-10-02
| 1 | ND9M | 26 | KX9X | 51 | KE0PBR | 76 | KM4LAO |
| 2 | NJ7H | 27 | DJ8MS | 52 | KE0WPA | 77 | VA7LM |
| 3 | UT1FG | 28 | KG5CCI | 53 | JK2XXK | 78 | VE7PTN |
| 4 | JA9KRO | 29 | ON4AUC | 54 | EA4NF | 79 | N4UFO |
| 5 | N5UC | 30 | N5BO | 55 | PR8KW | 80 | N6UTC |
| 6 | F5VMJ | 31 | K8BL | 56 | XE1ET | 81 | PT2AP |
| 7 | DL6AP | 32 | KE4AL | 57 | EB1AO | 82 | AA8CH |
| 8 | DP0POL | 33 | PA3GAN | 58 | W7WGC | 83 | VE1VOX |
| 9 | OE3SEU | 34 | F4BKV | 59 | LU4JVE | 84 | FG8OJ |
| 10 | WI7P | 35 | KB5FHK | 60 | N6DNM | 85 | PT9BM |
| 11 | K5ZM | 36 | AC0RA | 61 | SM3NRY | 86 | YU0W |
| 12 | WY7AA | 37 | JO2ASQ | 62 | F4DXV | 87 | KI7UXT |
| 13 | HA3FOK | 38 | VA3VGR | 63 | KI7QEK | 88 | KJ7NDY |
| 14 | LU5ILA | 39 | KI0KB | 64 | W8LR | 89 | AF5CC |
| 15 | N6UA | 40 | VE3HLS | 65 | W1AW | 90 | KB2YSI |
| 16 | W5PFG | 41 | KI7UNJ | 66 | AA5PK | 91 | VE3GOP |
| 17 | N9IP | 42 | LA9XGA | 67 | WD5GRW | 92 | K0FFY |
| 18 | DL2GRC | 43 | HJ5LVR | 68 | VE1CWJ | 93 | JM1CAX |
| 19 | AK8CW | 44 | BG7QIW | 69 | KE9AJ | 94 | PS8BR |
| 20 | N4AKV | 45 | DF2ET | 70 | M1DDD | 95 | BI1MHK |
| 21 | AD0DX | 46 | N7AGF | 71 | AD7DB | 96 | W8MTB |
| 22 | AD0HJ | 47 | JL3RNZ | 72 | HB9GWJ | 97 | DK9JC |
| 23 | ND0C | 48 | VK5DG | 73 | SP5XSD | 98 | WA9JBQ |
| 24 | BA1PK | 49 | K7TAB | 74 | DL4EA | 99 | N4DCW |
| 25 | WD9EWK | 50 | XE3DX | 75 | N8RO | 100 | KG4AKV |
[ANS thanks Mitch Ahrenstorff, AD0HJ ANS Rotating Editor and @GridMasterMap for the above information.]
[ANS thanks _ for the above information.]
Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition?
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
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Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for October 3, 2025
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/ .
This week there are no additions or deletions to the AMSAT TLE distribution.
[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information.]
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.
Upcoming Contacts
Paterson P-Tech High School/ Paterson Public Schools, Paterson, New Jersey, direct via W2NPT
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1S .
The scheduled crewmember is Kimiya Yui, KG5BPH.
The ARISS mentor is AB1OC.
Contact is go for Monday, October 6. 2025 at 14:24:46 UTC.
Namibia Scientific Society, Windhoek, Namibia, telebridge via ON4ISS.
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS.
The scheduled crewmember is Kimiya Yui, KG5BPH.
The ARISS mentor is KA3HDO.
Contact is go for Thursday, October 9, 2025 at 10:37:18 UTC.
Completed Contacts
Pobeda schools, Aznakaevsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, direct via RC4P.
The ISS callsign was RSØISS.
The crewmember was Sergey Ryzhikov.
The ARISS mentor is RV3DR.
Contact was successful on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 1 10:45 UTC.
Instituto Politecnico Nacional: Planetario “Luis Enrique Erro”, Mexico City (Gustavo A. Madero), Mexico, Direct via XE2L.
The ISS callsign was NA1SS.
The crewmember was Zena Cardman, KJ5CMN.
The ARISS mentor was VE3TBD.
Contact was successful on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at 16:40:40 UTC.
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.
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.
October 11, 2025
North Star Radio Convention
Hennepin Technical College
9000 Brooklyn Boulevard
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445
https://northstarradio.org/
ADØHJ
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 – AMSAT Ambassador Program, for the above information.]
Satellite Shorts From All Over
- Suryono Adisoemarta, YD0NXX/N5SNN, Amateur Radio Organization of Indonesia, reports “September 28, 2025, was the 10th anniversary of IO-86 (Indonesia OSCAR 86) Satellite. The host vehicle, LAPAN A2 satellite, was launched from India using a PSLV rocket. This 10 years of almost problem-free satellite is beyond imagination, as the service year was designed only for 2 years. Currently the FM voice repeater payload is still working good , only the APRS digipeater is showing reduced sensitivity . The same digipeater box, a Tracker2, that was purchased at the same time in 2008 currently on my bench is also showing the same symptom. Hopefully we can have another 10 years of service from this satellite.” [ANS thanks Suryono Adisoemarta, YD0NXX/N5SNN, Amateur Radio Organization of Indonesia for the above information.]
- M2 Antenna Systems Sales Manager Robert Brown, KR7O reports that LEO Pack antenna systems are back in stock and once again available in the AMSAT Store Despite the factory working nearly around the clock, the LEO Pack had been out-of-stock for several months due to a suddden increase in commercial and government orders. The good news is, at this time, there is no price increase. [ANS thanks M2 Antenna Systems Sales Manager Robert Brown, KR7O, 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 week’s ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW.
f.karnauskas [at] amsat [dot] 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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