SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS009   
   ARLS009 ARTSAT2: DESPATCH Satellite is Now FO-81   
      
   ZCZC AS09     
   QST de W1AW     
   Space Bulletin 009  ARLS009   
   >From ARRL Headquarters     
   Newington, CT  December 18, 2014   
   To all radio amateurs   
      
   SB SPACE ARL ARLS009   
   ARLS009 ARTSAT2: DESPATCH Satellite is Now FO-81   
      
   AMSAT-NA has designated the ARTSAT2: DESPATCH (DEep SPace Amateur   
   Troubadour's CHallenge) satellite as Fuji OSCAR 81 or FO-81. OSCAR   
   Number Administrator Bill Tynan, W3XO, said the Japanese deep-space   
   satellite "appears to have met all of the requirements for an OSCAR   
   number, including IARU coordination." Tynan said he applied the   
   "Fuji" designation "in recognition of the long history of   
   contributions the Japanese have made to Amateur Radio satellites."   
      
   Launched on December 3, FO-81 is the second spacecraft in the ARTSAT   
   series. It went into space with the Hayabusa-2 asteroid probe. A   
   primary mission of DESPATCH is to collect signals from the   
   spacecraft from around the world and to reconstruct the original   
   data transmitted from the spacecraft. "Reception of such weak   
   signals to reconstruct data from the spacecraft will require the   
   expertise of exceptionally skilled ham operators," the satellite's   
   developers have said in seeking the cooperation radio amateurs   
   around the world.   
      
   Further information on FO-81 can be found on the web at,   
   http://despatch.artsat.jp/en/Main_Page .   
   NNNN   
   /EX    
      
      
   )\/(ark   
      
   If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until   
   you hire an amateur.   
      
   --- FMail/Win32 1.60   
    * Origin:  (1:3634/12.71)