AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager Retires
/Ray Hoad, WA5QGD has retired from the position of AMSAT-NA Orbital Elements Manager.
Hoad has held this position since 8th October 1993, when he inherited it from Dick Campbell, WR5RW (formally N3FKV). He also inherited a BASIC sorting program from Dick which has faithfully produced the AMSAT TLE format each week for almost 30 years. Today an emulator is used, but it consistently produces the format we (and our computer tracking programs) expect to see.
Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P has been developing a software-based system that pulls the TLE data directly from the internet (Space-Track, 18SPCS), formats it, and sends it out to the amateur radio community. Joe has been testing it for over a month now and it is ready to go!
“It has been a privilege to serve AMSAT as Orbital Elements Manager and I will miss the Thursday night routine of sending out the AMSAT TLE. But to those who have helped me along the way … thanks. Special thanks to Keith Pugh (W5IU Silent key), Dick Campbell (WR5RW), Nico Janssen (PA0DLO), and also to Joe Fitzgerald (KM1P) for stepping up to the job.”
