August, 2006

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Amateur Radio CubeSat Launch Postponed
The launch and deployment 13 Amateur Radio "CubeSats," originally set for June 28, has been postponed until July 26 (UTC), reportedly due to a technical issue during launch vehicle preparation. The backup date is July 27, one CubeSat group told ARRL. A Dnepr-1LV rocket is scheduled to carry the CubeSats into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. A fourteenth satellite in the package will not carry an Amateur Radio payload. The CubeSat project is a collaboration between California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo and Stanford University's Space Systems Development Laboratory. All of the CubeSats were designed and built by students at various universities in the US and elsewhere in the world. Twelve of the satellites have downlinks in the Amateur Radio satellite allocation between 435 and 438 MHz, and one will operate on 145.980 MHz. None of the spacecraft will carry a transponder. Transmitter power outputs range from 10 mW to 2 W.

Astronaut still needs QSLs for DXCC from space
International Space Station Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, reports logging 130 DXCC entities from NA1SS while on orbit, but the DX QSLs have been slow in coming. To date McArthur has only about one-third of the entities confirmed for a special DXCC from space. DX stations that worked Bill McArthur at NA1SS during Expedition 12 are urged to send QSL cards to ARRL, ARISS QSL -- Exp 12, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111-1494 USA. DX stations may also QSL via the routes on the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Web site, but they will take longer to be counted. If you've already sent a card "via the buro," ARISS asks that you send another to the ARRL ARISS QSL address.

Southwest to battle AirTran on BWI-Detroit route
Southwest Airlines announced today that it will begin non-stop service between Baltimore and Detroit. Starting Sept. 14, the carrier will operate four daily round-trip flights between the cities. But Southwest will have low-cost competition on the route. AirTran Airways began its own service between Detroit and Baltimore on May 25. For the past few years, industry observers have increasingly predicted that low-cost carriers would soon run out of room to expand without bumping into each other. Those observers will likely point to this route as sign that forecast is starting to come true.

Fliers fear in-flight cellphone use could spark air rage
An International Airline Passengers Association (IAPA) survey of frequent business travelers released last week found the respondents fear “that the impending introduction of cellphones onboard commercial jets will be disruptive, anti-social and even dangerous, possibly even sparking air rage between passengers,” writes TravelAgent.com. One of the top concerns of those surveyed was that they would not be able to escape from the sound of ringing cellphones and chatty seatmates. “In fact,” writes TravelAgent.com, “45% of respondents ranked listening to someone's telephone calls as the second most irritating thing they could imagine on an aircraft, worse than listening to a child crying or a passenger snoring." (Having someone kick the back of the seat was rated the most annoying, in case you were wondering.) Many respondents in the IAPA survey said they were “violently opposed” to allowing cellphone use on commercial flights, while only half said they thought onboard calling would be useful. Saying her group's research shows widespread opposition to in-flight cellphone use, IAPA spokeswoman Nancy McKinley urged that any airline that does choose to allow cellphone usage should also create "quiet zones" or "phone-free" times.

August, 2006

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