Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Aug 23 2019 11:15 am CHINESE MICROSATELLITE ENDS ITS LUNAR MISSION PAUL/ANCHOR: With a planned crash onto the surface of the moon, China's microsatellite has ended its lunar mission. Graham Kemp, VK4BB, tells us more. GRAHAM: The 14-month journey of China's microsatellite Longjiang-2 ended on July 31, with its intended crash onto the lunar surface. Weighing only 48 kilograms, or 104 pounds, it spent 437 days in lunar orbit, studying solar radiation, and conducting radio astronomical observations. While it was in orbit, amateur radio operators had partnered with scientists at China's Harbin Institute of Technology to uplink commands to the tiny craft and receive data the satellite was transmitting. One of the images it captured was of the moon and Earth during the total solar eclipse on July 2nd of this year. The final commands given to the satellite came from Reinhard Kuhn, DK5LA, whose ongoing work with Longjiang-2, since its launch in May 2018, made him the first radio amateur to communicate with a satellite in lunar orbit. His greatest challenge may well have come on the day the tiny craft was set to end its journey: A nearby lightning strike prompted him to unplug all his cables but he needed to reconnect a bit later - and he did - just before the tiny satellite passed behind the moon. Scientists believe 12 minutes after it went silent, it hit the lunar surface. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB. (SOUTHGATE) ** TICKET SALES BEGIN FOR AMSAT SPACE SYMPOSIUM AND MEETING PAUL/ANCHOR: If you've got your eye on the sky, AMSAT has just the event for you. Jim Damron, N8TMW, explains. JIM: October may seem a long way off, but if you're planning to attend the 50th Anniversary AMSAT Space Symposium and General Meeting, it's closer than you realize. Tickets have gone on sale for the sympsoium, the banquet, and a Sunday bus tour. AMSAT recently announced its panel of speakers for the banquet to be held on Saturday, October 19th. The panel will take on the topic of "The Foundations of AMSAT." They include AMSAT's founding president Perry Klein, W3PK; Project OSCAR's Lance Ginner, K6GSJ, author and diplomat George Jacobs, W3ASK, along with several others. The symposium weekend will be held in Arlington, Virginia, from the 18th to the 20th of October, and will include a side trip to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, at the National Air and Space Museum. For details and registration information, visit amsat dot org (amsat.org). For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW. (AMSAT.ORG) ** GOING THE DISTANCE VIA MICROWAVE IN AUSTRALIA PAUL/ANCHOR: In Australia, two hams have gone the distance via microwave, and set what they're calling a new record. With that story, we have John Williams, VK4JJW. JOHN: There is an array of awards posted on the QR Zed page for Roland Lang, VK4FB, and many of them are for DX contacts. His latest accomplishment, however, took his radio signals only 92.08 kilometres, or about 57 miles. Roland and Stefan Durtschi, VK4CSD, report that on the 11th of August they completed what they are calling the first FT8 contact to be made on 122 GHz by any ham anywhere. This is not the first time the Queensland microwave enthusiasts have pushed the bounds of the band. They also reported earlier this summer that they believe they had set a new record in Australia for SSB on the same frequency: that contact was made over a distance of 69.6 kilometres, or an estimated 43 miles. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams, VK4JJW. (WIA) ** BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the K7EFZ repeater in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. local time after the Eagle Rock Emergency Practice Net. --- SBBSecho 3.08-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (801:1/2) þ Synchronet þ Temple of Doom BBS - tod.eothnet.com .