Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B)
To   : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Jun 17 2022 09:06:03

HAMS BUILD SKILLS, FRIENDSHIPS AT YOUTH ON THE AIR CAMP

DON/ANCHOR: This year's Youth on the Air camp for young operators in the 
Americas is turning out to be a memorable one. Updating us now from the 
middle of all the action is Neil Rapp, WB9VPG.

NEIL: High temperatures and high winds haven't been enough to put a 
damper on the 2022 Youth on the Air camp for the Americas in metro 
Cincinnati, Ohio.  Twenty-one campers have learned about contesting, 
digital modes, and D-STAR, and built two direction-finding kits and a 
code key.  The team launched a high-altitude balloon with an APRS beacon 
that reached just over 97,000 feet (30,000 metres), and a mid-altitude 
balloon with a WSPR beacon that is still traveling around the globe at 
about 30,000 feet (9,000 metres) with the identifier K4PRM-1.  As this 
story is being filed, the camp is approaching the halfway point and about 
to embark on VHF contests at Kings Island amusement park -- and of 
course, the campers have been on the air using the callsign W8Y.  
Everyone is having a great time, learning a lot, and building a strong 
community of youth amateur radio operators.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm camp director Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, in West 
Chester, Ohio.

**

NASA STUDIES DAMAGE TO WEBB TELESCOPE

DON/ANCHOR: Scientists are taking a second look at the damage caused by a 
fragment that struck the Webb space telescope recently. Paul Braun,
WD9GCO, brings us up to date.

PAUL: The US Space Agency NASA is assessing the impact that a
micrometeoroid strike had on the James Webb Space Telescope, which
it struck last month. The dust-size fragment is reported to have hit
one of the primary mirror segments used in data collection. Engineers'
initial assessments show only a slight change in the performance of
the mirror and were able to reposition it in an attempt to compensate
for the strike. Reports say this was the fifth impact of its kind since
the telescope was sent into space in December as the heir apparent to
the aging Hubble Telescope. NASA wrote in a blogpost that its analysis
and measurements will continue. NASA is still on track for its July
12th date to release the first images collected by the telescope.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO.

(BBC, SPACEFLIGHT NOW)

**

PLANS PROCEED FOR OUTDATED SATELLITES' REMOVAL

DON/ANCHOR: The European Space Agency is involved in a project to reduce 
the clutter of outdated satellites from the skies. John Williams, VK4JJW,
explains.

JOHN: Think of it as a high-flying system of air traffic control — an 
extremely high-flying system of air-traffic control. The European Space 
Agency's Sunrise Programme is preparing to rid space of telecommunications
satellites that have outlived their usefulness and are junking up the
skies. The removal process is being coordinated by Astroscale, a private
company that removes orbital debris, and OneWeb, the satellite network
providing internet broadband. The ESA Partnership Project is the first
of its kind and is expected to produce a prototype that can remove the
outdated satellites from their low earth orbits. The goal is to protect
the environment where low-earth orbits take place and to reduce the
chance of collisions.

When the contract was awarded to Astroscale in 2019, the company said the 
ESA initiative would [quote] "advance the environmentally sustainable use 
of space" [endquote] and preserve its use for generations to come.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams, VK4JJW.

(AMSAT NEWS SERVICE, ASTROSCALE)

**

BRITISH HAMS ARRESTED AS SPIES IN ALBANIA

DON/ANCHOR: Two British radio amateurs were arrested by Albanian 
authorities who claimed they were operating as spies. We have that report 
from Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.

JEREMY: Authorities in Albania are investigating the activities of two 
ham radio operators from Great Britain who were arrested in May after 
amateur radio transceivers were discovered in their baggage. A report of 
the incident appeared in the UK's Daily Mirror, Daily Mail and Daily 
Express newspapers. The men were not identified in the media accounts but 
were said to have been charged with spying after being stopped at 
Albania's Tirana International Airport on 30th May.

The news reports said that the men told police they were IT engineers on 
holiday. After extensive questioning, the men were permitted to return 
home. Their Kenwood radios were taken for further examination to 
determine whether they were capable of interfering with Albania's 
military and secret service analogue radio frequencies. Investigators 
were also studying the radios to see whether they could record 
transmissions.

There were no further details about the case.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.

(THE DAILY MIRROR, DAILY MAIL AND DAILY EXPRESS)
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