*AMSAT *News Service *ANS-039*
*February 8, 2026*

In this edition:

* FO-29 Approaches Full Sunlight
* Gridmaster Top 100 Rovers for February 2026
* VUCC Satellite Standing February 2026
* DXCC Satellite Standing for February 2026
* SpaceX Grounds its Falcon 9 Rocket
* Declassifying JUMPSEAT: An American Pioneer in Space
* Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
* Kenya to Represent Africa in ARISS Program 2026
* ARISS News
* AMSAT Ambassador Activities
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

The AMSAT? News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and informat
ion
service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes
news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities
of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active
interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog
and digital Amateur Radio satellites.

The news feed on https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in
Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor [at]
amsat.org

You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service
Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ------------------------------
FO-29 Approaches Full Sunlight

Fuji-OSCAR 29 (JAS 2) will soon enter a season of orbits in full sunlight, making it once again available for worldwide use.

JAS-2 was successfully launched on August 17, 1996. It orbits the Earth in
a polar orbit at 1300 km altitude in a time of 112 minutes. The inclination
is 98ø. The transmission power of the beacon is 100 mW, the transponde
r 1
watt. The linear transponder downlink is from 435.800 MHz ? 435.900
MHz
(USB, CW), with uplink from 145.900 MHz ? 146.00 MHz (LSB, CW). CW
beacon
frequency is 435.795 MHz.

*Fuji-OSCAR 29 (JAS 2) Credit: JAMSAT*

Designated as Fuji-OSCAR 29 after achieving orbit, JAS 2 has long been one
of the most popular and most useful linear satellites available to
amateurs. However, as the satellite approaches 30 years of age, its
batteries have long-since failed. It only continues to operate while the
sun is illuminating its solar panels.

On March 9, FO-29 will begin orbiting in full sunlight, without periodic eclipses.

In mid-February, the duration of the shadow decreases from about 20 minutes
to about 1 minute per day. Therefore, FO-29?s transmitter may sudde
nly come
to life unexpectedly. Amateurs are encouraged to monitor the satellite and
to update its activity on the AMSAT OSCAR Satellite Status page, https://www.amsat.org/status/.

Please enjoy using FO-29 while it remains available!

*[ANS thanks Akira Kaneko, JA1OGZ, of JAMSAT for the above information.]* ------------------------------
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Gridmaster Top 100 Rovers for February 2026

The February 2026 rankings for the Top 100 Rovers (Mixed LEO/MEO/GEO) in satellite operations, as determined by @GridMasterMap on Twitter, has been released. The ranking is determined by the number of grids and DXCC
entities activated, taking into account only those grids where a minimum
number of QSOs logged on the gridmaster.fr website have been validated by a third party. Grid numbers do not directly reflect the exact number of activations. Satellite operators are encouraged to upload their LoTW
satellite contacts to https://gridmaster.fr in order to provide more
accurate data.
1 ND9M 26 BA1PK 51 KE0WPA 76 HB9GWJ
2 NJ7H 27 KX9X 52 WD5GRW 77 VA7LM
3 UT1FG 28 KG5CCI 53 KE0PBR 78 DL4EA
4 JA9KRO 29 DJ8MS 54 XE3DX 79 N8RO
5 N5UC 30 N5BO 55 BA8AFK 80 SP5XSD
6 F5VMJ 31 ON4AUC 56 LU4JVE 81 N6UTC
7 DL6AP 32 K8BL 57 W7WGC 82 N4UFO
8 DP0POL 33 KE4AL 58 PR8KW 83 VE7PTN
9 WI7P 34 KB5FHK 59 JK2XXK 84 PT2AP
10 K5ZM 35 AC0RA 60 EA4NF 85 VE1VOX
11 OE3SEU 36 PA3GAN 61 EB1AO 86 AA8CH
12 WY7AA 37 F4BKV 62 XE1ET 87 KB2YSI
13 LU5ILA 38 KI0KB 63 N6DNM 88 KI7UXT
14 N6UA 39 JO2ASQ 64 W8LR 89 AF5CC
15 HA3FOK 40 KI7UNJ 65 W1AW 90 KJ7NDY
16 OH2UDS 41 VA3VGR 66 KI7QEK 91 BI1MHK
17 W5PFG 42 VE3HLS 67 SM3NRY 92 PT9BM
18 AK8CW 43 BG7QIW 68 KE9AJ 93 FG8OJ
19 N9IP 44 LA9XGA 69 F4DXV 94 BG5CZD
20 AD0DX 45 HJ5LVR 70 VE1CWJ 95 YU0W
21 AD0HJ 46 VK5DG 71 AA5PK 96 PU4CEB
22 DL2GRC 47 N7AGF 72 AD7DB 97 W8MTB
23 N4AKV 48 DF2ET 73 KM4LAO 98 N4DCW
24 ND0C 49 K7TAB 74 PU6JBN 99 WA9JBQ
25 WD9EWK 50 JL3RNZ 75 M1DDD 100 PS8BR

*[ANS thanks Gridmaster.fr for the above information.]* ------------------------------

*The 2026 President?s Club Coin is Now Available!*
*Help Support GOLF and FoxPlus.*

<https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/pc-club-coin-2-sides_ 201201/#main>

*Annual memberships start at only $120*
*Join the AMSAT President?s Club today and help*
*Keep Amateur Radio in Space!* *https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/* <https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/> ------------------------------
VUCC Satellite Standing February 2026

VUCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for January 01, 2026 to February 01, 2026.
Call Jan Feb
DF2ET 1700 1801
DG7RO 1504 1600
PS8ET 1000 1216
EA2AA 1135 1170
JL1SAM 905 1008
JS1LQI 808 825
PA7RA 534 604
XE2YWH 595 600
HB9BIN 356 460
WO3T 437 450
OH3DP 352 401
IK8YTA 300 332
PU5DDC 254 258
EA4DEI 200 250
XE1R 105 237
G4BWP 200 220
I2OIM 155 206
WB5TX 160 165
W1AW 103 134
PU4FAR New 100
YB0OSU New 100

Congratulations to the new VUCC Satellite holders.

PU4FAR
YB0OSU

PU4FAR is first VUCC Satellite holder from GH83

*[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ, for the above information.]* ------------------------------

*Need new satellite antennas?*
*Purchase M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store.*

<https://www.amsat.org/ans-007-amsat-news-service-weekly-bulletins-for-janu ary-7-2024/leo-pack1-png/#main>

*When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards* *Keeping Amateur Radio in Space.* *https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/* <https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/>
------------------------------
DXCC Satellite Standing for February 2026

DXCC Satellite Award/Endorsement Change Summary for January 01, 2026 to February 01, 2026.
Call Jan Feb
HB9BZA 196 204
PY2RN 166 192
YO2CMI 185 186
VU2LBW 166 174
ON4AOI 156 167
HB9GWJ 150 154
EA3GP 103 153
LA7XK 118 119
IK8YTA 107 118
K6FW 102 104

*[ANS thanks Jon Goering, N7AZ, for the above information.]* ------------------------------
[image: SDR Gen 2 Ad - 2026]
------------------------------
SpaceX Grounds its Falcon 9 Rocket

SpaceX has temporarily grounded its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which is
slated to launch four astronauts next week.

A Falcon 9 delivered 25 of SpaceX?s Starlink satellites into low Ea
rth
orbit (LEO) as planned on Monday (Feb. 2). But, after deploying the
payloads, the rocket?s upper stage failed to perform its deorbit bu
rn,
which was designed to bring it down for controlled destruction in Earth?
??s
atmosphere.


*Northrop Grumman?s Cygnus XL cargo craft lifts off atop SpaceX Fal
con 9
rocket from Florida?s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to the
International Space Station in September, 2025. Credit: NASA+*

The Falcon 9 is the world?s busiest rocket by far. It launched a record-breaking 165 times in 2025 and already has 14 liftoffs until its
belt this year.

The rocket is incredibly reliable, too. All of last year?s missions
were
successful, and just a single one ? a Starlink launch on March 3
?
experienced a significant anomaly.

It?s unclear how long this new launch hiatus will last. But both Sp
aceX and
NASA doubtless hope the issue is resolved soon, for a very high-profile
Falcon 9 launch is coming up ? that of the Crew-12 astronaut missio
n to the
International Space Station (ISS).

Crew-12 is scheduled to include NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway, KJ5NIV, and Jessica Meir, as well as French astronaut Sophie Adenot, KJ5LTN, and
Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev. Their SpaceX Dragon capsule has been
scheduled for launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket on February 11.

*[ANS thanks Space.com for the above information. See the full article at https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-grounds- its-falcon-9-rocket-after-a-problem-with-its-upper-stage-will-the-crew-12-a stronaut-mission-be-affected <https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-grounds -its-falcon-9-rocket-after-a-problem-with-its-upper-stage-will-the-crew-12- astronaut-mission-be-affected>]*
------------------------------
Declassifying JUMPSEAT: An American Pioneer in Space

The director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) recently
declassified the existence of JUMPSEAT: the United States?
first-generation, highly elliptical orbit (HEO) signals-collection
satellite.

Launched from 1971 to 1987 under mission numbers 7701 to 7708, JUMPSEAT was
the product of the United States Air Force?s (USAF) program at the
NRO.
Developed under a program called ?Project EARPOP,? JUMPSEAT
offered the
U.S. a way of collecting intelligence during unprecedented geopolitical
change and Cold War tensions that lasted until the early 1990s.

*JUMPSEAT Model_2_1 Credit: NRO*

The NRO and USAF, collaborating as a part of NRO?s ?Program
A,? were tasked
with developing a foundational HEO signals collection satellite to bolster
the U.S. government?s space intelligence portfolio. Named JUMPSEAT,
the new
satellite would be capable of operating in a highly ellipical, or Molniya, orbit. [*Editor?s Note: These orbits are very similar to those that
were
used by amateur radio satellites AO-10, AO-13, and AO-40 in the 1980s and -90s.*]

Together, the NRO and the USAF launched the first JUMPSEAT mission in 1971
from Vandenberg Air Force Base (now Vandenberg Space Force Base) in
California. Once in orbit, JUMPSEAT successfully collected electronic
emissions and signals, communication intelligence, and foreign
instrumentation intelligence: invaluable information that was downlinked to ground processing facilities within the U.S. From there, the data was
provided to the Department of Defense, the National Security Agency, and
other national security elements.

Over the decades, JUMPSEAT satellites continued to prove their worth to
signals intelligence, finally operating in transponder mode until they were taken out of service in 2006.

*[ANS thanks the National Reconnaissance Office for the above information.
Read the full article at https://www.nro.gov/news-media-featured-stories/news-media-archive/News-Art icle/Article/4392223/declassifying-jumpseat-an-american-pioneer-in-space/ <https://www.nro.gov/news-media-featured-stories/news-media-archive/News-Ar ticle/Article/4392223/declassifying-jumpseat-an-american-pioneer-in-space/>
]*
------------------------------
Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for February 6

Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps
in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. TLE bulletin
files are updated daily in the first hour of the UTC day. New bulletin
files will be posted immediately after reliable elements become available
for new amateur satellites. More information may be found at
https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/ <https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/>.

This week there are no additions or deletions to the AMSAT TLE distribution
.

*[ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information.]*
------------------------------
Kenya to Represent Africa in ARISS Program 2026

Kenya is set to make history in 2026 after being selected to host the
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, a global initiative that enables the public to communicate live with astronauts
aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

The Kenya Space Agency announced the selection, positioning the country at
the heart of an international effort to advance space education and public engagement in science. Kenya is the only African nation chosen for the 2026 ARISS cycle, a milestone expected to spark interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and inspire innovation across the
country.

According to the agency, the hosting window will run between July and
December 2026. During this period, Kenyan students, professionals and
members of the public will take part in live radio sessions with astronauts
on the ISS. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and
receive real-time answers about daily life in orbit, scientific research conducted on board and the realities of living and working in space.

The Kenya Space Agency will oversee preparations for the event in
collaboration with Pan-African Citizen Science e-Laboratory mentor and
agency liaison Harold Safary. Planning efforts will include technical coordination, public outreach and the selection of participants, with an
open call to be issued for interested individuals and institutions wishing
to take part in the live ISS contacts.

The 2026 ARISS program will offer Kenyans a rare opportunity to speak
directly with astronauts aboard the ISS, marking a significant step in the country?s engagement with global space initiatives and space educat
ion.

*[ANS thanks Satellite Pro Middle East for the above information. Read the
full article at https://satelliteprome.com/news/kenya-to-represent-africa-in-iss-ariss-prog ramme-2026/ <https://satelliteprome.com/news/kenya-to-represent-africa-in-iss-ariss-pro gramme-2026/>]*
------------------------------
ARISS News

Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between
amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with
astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The
downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide.

*RECENTLY COMPLETED*
School No. 4, Semenov, Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia, direct via UB3TBX
The ISS callsign was scheduled to be RS?ISS
The scheduled crewmember was Sergey Kud-Sverchkov
The ARISS mentor was RV3DR
Contact was successful for Thu 2026-02-05 09:14 UTC
Congratulations to the School No. 4 students, Sergey, mentor RV3DR, and
ground station UB3TBX!

FBU Im. I. Kant, Kaliningrad, Russia, direct via R2FDB
The ISS callsign was scheduled to be RS?ISS
The scheduled crewmember was Sergey Mikaev
The ARISS mentor was RV3DR
Contact was successful for Thu 2026-02-05 10:49 UTC
Congratulations to the FBU Im. I. Kant students, Sergey, mentor RV3DR, and ground station R2FDB!

Klimop Tongeren, Tongeren-Borgloon, Belgium, telebridge via ON4ISS
The ISS callsign was scheduled to be OR4ISS
The scheduled crewmember was Chris Williams, KJ5GEW
The ARISS mentor was ON6TI
Contact was successful for: Thu 2026-02-05 12:21:51 UTC 82 degrees maximum elevation
Congratulations to the Klimop Tongeren students, Chris, mentor ON6TI, and telebridge station ON4ISS!

*UPCOMING*
Hilltop Elementary, Canfield, OH, telebridge via K6DUE
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled crewmember is Chris Williams, KJ5GEW
The ARISS mentor is KD8COJ
Contact is go for Mon 2026-02-09 18:44:58 UTC 57 deg
Watch for Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/@ARISSlive/videos and https://live.ariss.org/

Many times a school may make a last minute decision to do a Livestream or
run into a last minute glitch requiring a change of the URL but we at ARISS
may not get the URL in time for publication. You can always check https://live.ariss.org/ to see if a school is Livestreaming.

As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios
are turned off as part of the safety protocol.

*The crossband repeater* continues to be *active* (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down), If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do
is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know.

*The packet system* (145.825 MHz up & down) was *scheduled for repair* on February 5.

*Ham TV* (2395.00 MHz) is *configured* for scheduled digital amateur
television operations.

Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own
orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed
time.

The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html

The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html

*[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors
for the above information.]*
------------------------------
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Get an AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store <https://www.zazzle.com/store/amsat_gear>!

25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur
Radio in Space
------------------------------
AMSAT Ambassador Activities

AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events.

February 13-15, 2026
Hamcation 2026
Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park
Colonial Drive
Orlando, Florida
AMSAT will have a table and many items available for purchase
Contact Dave Jordan, AA4KN to volunteer n4csitwo [at] bellsouth.net

March 21, 2026
Midwinter Madness Hamfest 2026
Maple Grove Radio Club
Buffalo Civic Center
1306 County Rd 134
Buffalo, Minnesota 55313
https://k0ltc.org/midwinter-madness/
K?JM, AD?HJ, KE?PBR

Interested in becoming an AMSAT Ambassador? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and
host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker
faires, and other events.

For more information go to: https://www.amsat.org/ambassador/ <https://www.amsat.org/ambassador/>

*[ANS thanks Bo Lowrey, W4FCL, Director ? AMSAT Ambassador Program,
for the
above information.]*
------------------------------
Satellite Shorts from All Over

+ In September 2025, AMSAT-DL and the Bochum Observatory jointly organized
the ?Bochum Space Days 2025? conference in the radome under
the 20-metre
antenna. The Radom was all about satellite and space research. A varied and informative program was offered, aimed at AMSAT members as well as all
space enthusiasts and makers. The presentations are now available on the AMSAT-DL YouTube channel. The language of the presentation is mixed German/English and subtitles can also be optionally activated in the
respective translation. Begin at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v?384KY6lBo&list?bIhjH2wj12GfMJGRwbYP FEjU7ECtjzzO
(ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.)

+ The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On ? Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) satellite has reached its final destination?nearly one million miles away from Earth toward the sun
and has
been renamed SOLAR-1. The observatory is expected to begin space weather operations in Spring 2026. Read more at http://bit.ly/4bUIY1K. (ANS thanks
NOAA for the above information.)

+ Edge of Space Sciences, a ham radio club in Englewood, Colorado, has been monitoring three amateur radio pico balloons as they continue to
circumnavigate the globe. Two balloons were released at HamCon Colorado on October 25, 2025. EOSSP-3 has completed 5 circumnavigations and is
currently lost somewhere ?up north.? No signal has been hea
rd for 4 days.
EOSSP-4 has completed 7 circumnavigations and is currently approaching
India. Meanwhile, EOSSP-2, launched September 18, completed its 10th circumnavigation at 19:05 UTC on February 4. The balloons can be tracked on aprs.fi at https://aprs.fi/#!call?2FEOSSP-2%2Ca%2FEOSSP-4%2Ca%2FEOSSP-3&timerange %9200&tail?400.
More information can be found on the club?s website, www.eoss.org.
(ANS
thanks ARRL for the above information.)

+ NASA is no longer planning a February launch of the Artemis 2 mission
after encountering hydrogen leaks during a fueling test of the Space Launch System. In a statement early Feb. 3, NASA said it completed a wet dress rehearsal for Artemis 2 but determined the vehicle will not be ready to
launch during the February window, which closes Feb. 11. Several other
issues occurred during the test. A valve in Orion?s hatch pressuriz
ation
system was accidentally vented during closeout work, requiring additional
time to repressurize the system. Unseasonably cold temperatures, which had already delayed the rehearsal by two days, caused further issues, including delays in tanking operations and problems with cameras and other pad
equipment. NASA also reported intermittent audio dropouts in communications among ground teams. The next launch period for Artemis 2 runs from March 6
to 11, with five two-hour windows available. Another launch opportunity
extends from April 1 to 6. (ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information. Read the full article at https://spacenews.com/artemis-2-slips-to-march/) ------------------------------
Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

- Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
- Students are eligible for *FREE* membership up to age 25.
- Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms.

Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.

*73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!*

*This week?s ANS Editor,*

*Mark Johns, K?JM*
*mjohns [at] amsat.org <http://amsat.org>*


*ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002 AMSAT is a registered trademark
of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation.*


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