XPost: rec.radio.amateur.moderated, rec.radio.amateur.misc, rec.   
   adio.amateur.policy   
   From: newsline@arnewsline.org   
      
   Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2448 for Friday September 27th, 2024   
   Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2448 with a release date of   
   Friday, September 27th, 2024 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.   
      
   The following is a QST. Goodbye to the GreenCube satellite. US   
   lawmakers prepare for another vote requiring AM radio in cars -- and a   
   pioneering Australian amateur becomes a Silent Key. All this and more   
   as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2448 comes your way right now.   
      
   **   
   BILLBOARD CART   
      
   **   
   GREENCUBE MISSION ENDS, RADIATION DAMAGE SUSPECTED   
      
   DON/ANCHOR: Our top story this week is the demise of the GreenCube   
   satellite. It was loved and well-used by avid DXers and DXpeditioners   
   as well as those making more casual satellite contacts. Jeremy Boot   
   G4NJH tells us what happened.   
      
   JEREMY: The popular GreenCube satellite, IO-117, is no longer   
   functioning - the result of what is believed to be radiation damage   
   suffered in Medium Earth Orbit.   
      
   The satellite, which is owned by the Italian Space Agency, was   
   developed by S5LAB at Sapienza University of Rome. S5LAB attempted to   
   send commands to reactivate it earlier this month after it suffered a   
   communication blackout, according to a report by AMSAT News Service.   
   The team is not optimistic that GreenCube can be restored to service.   
      
   S5LAB acknowledged that high radiation exposure can be an issue in   
   Medium Earth Orbit, adding that it was unclear whether GreenCube would   
   have a successor. The AMSAT report said that GreenCube is not the only   
   Medium Earth Orbit satellite that has been affected by radiation   
   levels. It was the first satellite in Medium Earth Orbit to carry an   
   amateur radio payload. S5LAB and AMSAT-Italia expect to hold a webinar   
   about GreenCube's mission, which it said exceeded all expectations the   
   team had for it when it was launched in July of 2022.   
      
   This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.   
      
   (AMSAT NEWS, AMSAT-UK)   
      
   **   
   US LAWMAKERS WAIT TO VOTE ON AM RADIO LEGISLATION   
      
   DON/ANCHOR: In Washington, DC, public-safety legislation awaits an   
   important vote: The proposed law would require all passenger cars sold   
   in the US to continue to make AM radio available. Kent Peterson KC0DGY   
   has that story.   
      
   KENT: The US House of Representatives is expected to consider a measure   
   that mandates AM radio in all new cars sold in the US, whether they are   
   manufactured domestically or imported. The bill, known as the AM Radio   
   in Every Vehicle Act, moved to the full floor for lawmakers'   
   consideration following a 45-2 vote in the House Energy and Commerce   
   Committee. Observers say that a House vote could happen as early as the   
   next few weeks before the US elections take place in November -- or it   
   would be delayed.   
      
   The US Senate version of the bill has already been approved by that   
   chamber's Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. It still   
   awaits a full floor vote but has a majority of lawmakers supporting it   
   on both sides of the aisle.   
      
   The issue of AM radio's necessity in vehicles has escalated the debate   
   over public safety, as proponents such as the National Association of   
   Broadcasters and federal emergency officials have advocated in favor   
   retaining AM radio for its public-safety role, especially when carrying   
   alerts in rural areas.   
      
   Some manufacturers of electric cars are looking to eliminate AM radio   
   from their vehicles, claiming that RF interference from their cars'   
   electronic systems compromises AM radio reception.   
      
   This is Kent Peterson KC0DGY.   
      
   (RADIOWORLD.COM)   
      
   **   
   NEW ZEALAND YL GROUP ENDS FORMAL OPERATION   
      
   DON/ANCHOR: After a few years of struggling with membership issues, a   
   New Zealand group for YLs has dropped its formal operation. We hear the   
   details from Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.   
      
   JIM: New Zealand's Women Amateur Radio Operators group has ceased to   
   exist. After attempting to survive some troubled years, the   
   organisation's executive committee voted in 2020 to go into recess,   
   citing a lack of support from the membership.   
      
   According to the website of the New Zealand Association of Radio   
   Transmitters, the group's creation in 1962 arose from a need to address   
   special requirements of YLs at a time when very few female licensees   
   were on the air.   
      
   An announcement in YL Harmonics, the bimonthly newsletter of the YLRL,   
   confirms that the group will exist now only for social purposes and   
   will retain its callsign ZL6YL. Ngaire Jury, ZL2UJT, wrote in the   
   newsletter that a vote was taken to continue with social activities   
   without any fees. The new group has adopted the name, the NZ YL Group.   
      
   This is Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.   
      
   (YLRL HARMONICS)   
      
   **   
   SUNITA WILLIAMS, KD5PLB, TAKES OVER COMMAND OF ISS   
      
   DON/ANCHOR: NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, KD5PLB, has taken the helm   
   of the International Space Station as its new commander as she and   
   fellow crew member, Butch Wilmore, await their return to Earth in   
   February 2025. The pair's mission aboard the ISS was supposed to last   
   only eight days following their arrival via Boeing's Starliner, but   
   complications with the spacecraft delayed their departure and Starliner   
   returned to Earth crewless. By the time the duo returns home aboard a   
   SpaceX Dragon capsule, they will have been in space eight months. This   
   is Williams' second time as commander of the ISS.   
      
   (SPACE.COM)   
      
   **   
   SILENT KEY: IARU REGION 3 CO-ORGANIZER PETE WILLIAMS, FORMER VK3IZ   
      
   DON/ANCHOR: A notable pioneer who helped create the IARU Region 3   
   organization has become a Silent Key. We hear about him from Graham   
   Kemp VK4BB.   
      
   GRAHAM: Having secured his amateur licence in the wake of World War II,   
   Pete Williams, the former VK3IZ, wasted no time in immersing himself in   
   service to the amateur radio community. By the late '60s and early   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)