[continued from previous message]   
      
   dramatic engineering feats of modern times, catching the returning   
   70 m tall Booster 12 with its mechanized launch tower minutes after   
   it took off.   
      
   For a little perspective, Super Heavy is as tall as a 19+ story   
   building, and the catch-fitting pins that it was caught by are just   
   17 cm long.   
      
   Just hours after the launch, SpaceX lowered B12 back onto the orbital   
   launch mount and reconnected it to the booster quick disconnect   
   testing the ability of systems to still function after a launch and   
   catch, a prerequisite for truly rapid reusability.   
      
   In theory, SpaceX could have stacked another Starship and reflown B12   
   mere hours after the catch.   
      
   (orbitalindex.com)   
      
   NASA's highly anticipated Europa Clipper mission has officially   
   launched, embarking on a journey to explore Jupiter's moon, Europa.   
      
   The launch, described by NASA commentator Derrol Nail as unveiling   
   "the mysteries of an enormous ocean lurking beneath the icy crust of   
   Jupiter's moon Europa," marks the beginning of an ambitious   
   astrobiology mission.   
      
   After a journey of nearly six years, Europa Clipper is expected to   
   enter orbit around Jupiter in April 2030, where it will begin an   
   extended series of flybys of Europa. Over the course of its mission,   
   the probe will make close passes to the moon, gathering data that   
   could inform future missions, including a potential lander.   
      
   The mission is set to conclude in 2034, with NASA planning to crash   
   Europa Clipper into Jupiter's moon Ganymede to avoid contaminating   
   Europa's pristine environment.   
      
   (na)   
      
   WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - IOTA   
   iota-world.org/   
      
   3 B 9 / M  CFW from Rodrigues Island, IOTA number AF-017, until   
   the 30th of October. Listen for him during the CQ WW DX SSB Contest   
   operating as 3B9KW.   
   See QRZ.com for QSL details.   
      
   9 M 6 NA from Labuan Island, IOTA number OC-133,  in East  Malaysia   
   to the 25th of November. Again listen for him in the CQ WW DX SSB   
   Contest and the CQ WW DX CW Contest.   
   See QRZ.com for QSL details.   
      
   (newsline 2451)   
      
   Possible New DXCC Entity?   
      
   With the announcement of the United Kingdom to cede authority over   
   the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius in the future, it is possible that   
   Chagos may lose the VQ9 prefix, become a deleted DXCC entity and gain   
   status as a new and separate DXCC entity.   
      
   Affected may be   
      
   AF-006 - VQ9, Diego Garcia Island;   
   AF-041 - VQ9, Egmont group;   
   AF-058 - VQ9, Salomon group   
   AF-049; 3B8, Mauritius (Maurice) Island   
      
   (sarl)   
      
   WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS - MILITARY   
   Recordings of military transmissions can be found on the   
   Signal Identification Guide Wiki at   
   sigidwiki.com/wiki/Category:Military   
      
   Special event station PF 16 F is active to say farewell to the F-16   
   fighter aircraft, or Fighting Falcon.   
      
   After 45 years of service, from 1979 to 2024, the F-16 will retire   
   from the Royal Netherlands Air Force and members of Radio Club Limburg   
   will be operating the callsign until the 30th of November and hope to   
   work as many amateur radio operators across the world as possible.   
      
   rclb.nl/pf16   
      
   (rsgb)   
      
   WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO AMATEUR YOUNG TIMERS - YOTA   
   (Youngsters On The Air)   
   WIA committee:- Steve VK6SJ, Alec VK2MV and Pete VK2LP.   
   ham-yota.com/category/yota-region-3/   
   facebook.com/groups/YOTAOC/   
   youtube.com/channel/UClAapljf0VQ751sOgu2IzaA   
      
   ROMANIAN TEEN SETS NEW RECORD FOR CW CALLSIGN COPY   
      
   Congratulations were given freely in Tunisia to a young Romanian ham   
   who set a new world record while competing in the 20th IARU High Speed   
   Telegraphy World Championship.   
      
   Thirteen-year-old Ianis Scutaru, YO8YNS, won a gold medal and broke   
   the record he set last year in the category of Callsign Receiving.   
      
   According to the competition's website, his total score of over   
   three hundred thousand points represent his maximum copy speed of   
   1,126 characters per minute - an equivalent just exceeding 225 words   
   per minute.   
      
   An announcement on the championship's website said:   
   "This remarkable achievement showcases not only Ianis's dedication   
   and skill but also the talent of the Romanian ham radio community."   
      
   (newsline 2451)   
   Now with Youngsters On The Air news a little closer to home,   
   WIA YOTA CHAIRMAN STEVE VK6SJ   
      
   The WIA YOTA committee currently includes 5 members including 2 actual   
   YOTA participants and is tasked with looking at ways to get more   
   engagement with youngsters in our ranks, and in particular with the   
   WIA.   
      
   One of our initiatives is to build a YOTA club station that any WIA   
   member in the YOTA age group can access via the internet from anywhere   
   in VK. More on this in later articles.   
      
   As a kind of proof of concept, we sponsored a group of 4 youngsters   
   to compete as a Multi Single YOTA entrant in the recent Oceania SSB DX   
   contest, using a single remote station, accessed from across Qld and   
   Victoria. Team members were VK4II, VK4KDF, VK4OTZ and VK3ASP, each a   
   holder of an advanced license. This involved a number of planning   
   sessions to firstly understand the operation of the remote station   
   including radio, rotator, antenna switching and secure access, plenty   
   of practise on the radio beforehand (tough gig but someone has to do   
   it!), contest strategy planning, then setting up N1MM across the same   
   VPN used for the station to allow each operators instance of N1MM to   
   be in sync with each other. Finally the group worked on other aspects   
   such as use of the voice keyer function in N1MM and an ergonomic way   
   of using the PTT from a remote operating position.   
      
   The team scored just under 515,000 points and made 500 contacts over   
   the contest. Great effort considering it was also their first attempt   
   at contesting, and also dealing with the complexity of using a remote   
   station.   
      
   A big shout out also to the Oceania DX Contest committee for   
   organising the YOTA categories for this contest.   
      
   All in all, it gave the team and the YOTA committee a good   
   demonstration of how a remote HF station can be used to share amongst   
   youth starting out in this great hobby without the benefit of a half   
   a life time to accumulate gear and the money to buy said gear. I hope   
   the same 4 team members will also form the core of a group who might   
   assist in designing and building the WIA YOTA station.   
      
   (Steve Kennedy)   
      
   WW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS --- RADIO SCOUTING   
   VKJOTAJOTI.COM   
      
   WHAT IT WAS WAS JOTA   
      
   The Scout Association of Maldives has hosted the annual Jamboree on   
   the Air (JOTA) and Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI) national event at   
   Hiriya School last weekend.   
      
   This year's event brought together over 400 Scouts from the Greater   
   Male' region, while more than 700 Scouts from across the country   
   participated virtually, connecting with millions of Scouts worldwide   
   through amateur radio and online platforms.   
      
   The event offered an exciting opportunity for Maldivian Scouts to   
   engage with their global counterparts through a range of activities   
   that combined traditional Scouting values with modern technology.   
   The event was part of the worldwide JOTA-JOTI initiative, which is the   
   largest digital Scout event, bringing together over 2 million Scouts   
   from 174 countries annually in October.   
      
   (eHam)   
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------   
   2024 IT'S A DATE   
      
   Clubs are welcome to email text with audio for this section   
      
   Details of all WIA affiliated clubs and societies can be found   
   on the WIA website, including email addresses and website links.   
      
   ----------------------------   
      
   VK7 - Tasmanian Ham Conference November 2 and 3 Hobart.    (vk7news)   
   Held at the Sandy Bay Campus of UTAS.   
      
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)