Tag Archives: Ham Radio

May 24 2013

Near-Space Amateur Radio Balloon Flight 29.494 MHz

sp9uob_frontThe SEBA-3 high-altitude amateur radio balloon, with a 29.494 MHz RTTY transmitter, launches Saturday, May 25. Other balloons carrying 434 MHz transmitters are also launching this weekend.

One of the 434 MHz balloons PIE will have live video streaming of the launch and from the chase car via the British Amateur TV Club website at http://www.batc.tv/ (select “Live Events” then UKHAS Balloon Launches)

The IARU Region 1 website announcement regarding SEBA-3 says:

On Saturday May 25 at 1000 UT (1100 BST), the team from the club SP9PDF – directed by Tomasz, SP9UOB – will conduct another experiment of flight of an unmanned stratospheric balloon.

The balloon, with the code name SEBA-3, will start from the place of the nationwide amateur radio picnic named “ŁOŚ” (long.: 18.6689 E, lat.: 51.0399 N, QTH locator: JO91IA).

A telemetry transmitter with 500mW power, placed in the capsule of the balloon, will operate on RTTY 50 baud on 29.494 MHz USB with the shift 240 Hz, 7N2. ATV transmission from the camera in the capsule of the balloon is also planned.

Detailed instructions in English for configuring the software are available on the website: http://ukhas.org.uk/guides:tracking_guide

We invite everyone to follow the flight through listening to the tracker, or to visit the website: http://spacenear.us/
–

SSDV picture from a previous PIE balloon - Image credit Dave Akerman

SSDV picture from a previous PIE balloon – Image credit Dave Akerman

Among the 434 MHz balloons launching this weekend are:

- PIE launching on Sunday from Brightwalton with live streaming of launch and from the chase car at http://www.batc.tv/
The PIE balloon will be transmitting images using Slow Scan Digital Video (SSDV)
Callsign: PIE
Frequency: 434.075 MHz and 434.650 MHz 600Hz shift 600 Baud 8 bits no parity 2 stop bits

- BABSHAB from Great Tew, Oxfordshire
Exact location: Within 500m radius around latitude 51.956468, Longitude -1.416999
Callsign: BABSHAB
Frequency: 434.075 MHz RTTY 450 shift 50 Baud 7 ascii bpc No parity and 2 stop bits.

- XABEN50 launches about 11:30 BST on Sunday, May 26
Callsign: uXABEN Frequency 434.350MHz 7N1 ASCII FSK RTTY

Tracking site: http://spacenear.us/

Slow Scan Digital Video (SSDV) Guide http://ukhas.org.uk/guides:ssdv

The free balloon software dl-fldigi can decode many different amateur radio digital modes, download Windows, Mac or Ubuntu Linux versions at
http://wiki.ukhas.org.uk/projects:dl-fldigi

World-wide Amateur Radio High Altitude Balloon announcements
http://www.arhab.org/hab_launch_list.php?daysBack=30

To get details of upcoming UK balloon launches subscribe to the UKHAS Mailing List by sending a blank email to this address:
ukhas+subscribe@googlegroups.com

May 24 2013

Small Satellite Workshop features Ham Radio

India Chennai - Small Satellite WorkshopA Small Satellite Developer Workshop featuring Amateur Radio is taking place July 8-13 in Chennai, India.

The amateur radio segment is being conducted by the National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR).

Other topics include
• Software Designed Receiver
• Basics of Spacecraft Technology
• Team Design Project

Further details at http://www.spaceschool.co.in/

Dhruva Space on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DhruvaSpace

May 23 2013

Harwell – Apps-in-Space Hackathon

Apps-in-Space-Hackathon-June-8-9The Satellite Applications Catapult is hosting a Satellite Applications Hackathon event on the weekend of June 8-9, 2013. It will take place at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus.

The two-day ‘technology development’ event is part of a series of activities to help generate innovative ideas and solutions in response to several challenges set by the Catapult or its associated partners. Hackathons offer an innovation platform to enable people to work together to solve challenges using space technologies, and exploit the benefits for both space and other markets sectors, eg. transport, healthcare, natural resources, etc.

The Hackathon is open to anyone who would like to participate – software developers, engineers, technologists, scientists, designers, artists, educators, students and entrepreneurs – anyone who has a passion to help change the world.

• Free registration
• Free shuttle-bus service between venue and Didcot Parkway train station
• Free food, snacks and drinks throughout
• Sleep over at the high-tech, world-leading facility!… So bring a sleeping bag, pillow and anything else to make yourself comfortable
• Prizes include potential funding and mentoring to help take your idea to market

To register for the Hackathon, please go to catapulthackathon.eventbrite.co.uk or email hackathons@sa.catapult.org.uk

Satellite Applications Catapult Hackathon http://sa.catapult.org.uk/event/catapult-hackathon/

May 23 2013

BBC: Ecuador Pegasus CubeSat fears over space debris crash

CubeSat NEE-01 Pegasus

CubeSat NEE-01 Pegasus

BBC News is reporting that at 0538 UT on Thursday, May 23 Ecuador’s new NEE-01 Pegasus 910 MHz CubeSat collided with debris from a S14 Soviet rocket launched in 1985.

The satellite was some 1,500 km east of Madagascar at the time. Pegasus, launched less than a month ago, is the first 1U CubeSat to carry a HD TV transmitter and deployable solar panels. The basic satellite is just 10 by 10 by 10 cm but, when deployed, the solar panels have a span of 70 cm.

Ronnie Nader with Elisse Nader and CubeSat

Ronnie Nader with Elisse Nader and CubeSat

Ecuador’s first Astronaut Ronnie Nader is quoted as saying “Pegasus could be damaged or spinning out of control, but because it’s still in orbit, we have hope“.

He had said earlier that it could take up to 48 hours to ascertain possible damage using radar.

Read the BBC News story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22635671

May 23, 0700 UT: Ronnie Nader posted “Survived the event, but we are almost sure of side impact with particles, tomorrow [May 23 ECT?] we will see the state of Pegasus, but we are still in the sky, still have Pegasus”.

May 23, 1600 UT: Ronnie Nader tweeted “Now we are sure that there [was] particle impact“.

Educational outreach is an important part of the project. The Ecuadorian Space Agency EXA is partnering with schools in Ecuador as part of the ASTERIA Program, in which students will use the satellite in their curricular and extra curricular activities.

The BBC report that the Ecuadorian Government contributed $700,000 towards the launch costs of the 1U CubeSat. It was launched on April 26, 2013 into a 660 km orbit on a CZ-2D rocket from the Jiuquan Space Center along with CubeBug-1 and TURKSAT-3USAT. It is reported by EXA that the Argentine CubeBug-1 had a particle impact, however, Colin Hurst VK5HI has tweeted @AMSAT_UK @CubeBug1 CubeBug-1 still beaconing at 1257utc 24th May 2013 @VK5HI

902 – 928 MHz is an amateur radio allocation in some countries.

EXA report on the incident in Spanish http://www.exa.ec/bp52/
Google English version of the report http://tinyurl.com/q8wdql2

NEE-01 Pegasus 910 MHz TV Camera in Action
http://amsat-uk.org/2013/05/20/nee-01-pegasus-910-mhz-tv-camera-in-action/

NEE-01 Pegaus HD TV CubeSat
http://amsat-uk.org/2013/04/25/nee-01-pegasus-hd-tv-cubesat/

May 22 2013

Amateur Radio Satellites for Emergency Communications

Raydel Espinet CM2ESP - 640

Raydel Espinet CM2ESP

Grupo de Radioaficionados para Operaciones Satelitales (GROS) Coordinator Raydel Espinet CM2ESP comments on the use of amateur radio satellites for emergency communications and describes how an amateur satellite was used in a Civil Defense exercise on May 18-19, 2013.

About the topic of satellites and emergencies I think satellites are an option very important to consider when there is no more available. In case of HF propagation blackouts or poor conditions and when local VHF and UHF repeaters fails, satellites can bring help, specially from light weight battery run portable stations.

FRC_CubaHere in Cuba we do every year an emergency rehearsal exercise named “Meteoro” which is organized by Cuba’s Civil Defense to simulate catastrophes and other actions relevant to the upcoming hurricane season.

This weekend (May 18th and 19th) was held the 2013 Exercise, like always Cuban Ham Radio Operators are invited to participate as an important asset during emergencies. But by first time ever on the Civil Defense National Headquarters were is installed amateur station CO9DCN we do a short and simple satellite demonstration to the Civil Defense authorities.

The short demo was just a simple “hello” exchanged between CO6CBF (Hector) in Cienfuegos Province and CM2ESP/Portable (Raydel) in the Headquarter’s backyard. Hector had done previous years demos for his province’s civil defense authorities, but this was the first time a demo was done at the National Civil Defense Headquarters. As HF propagation was terribly bad that day due to the recent solar flares the Civil Defense Authorities were very pleased with our short demo proving that satellites can be an alternative when ground and ionospheric propagation are disrupted.

The Press publish a short report about the amateur radio importance on emergencies and there is also a short mention in paragraph three of the very first satellite contact.

The news report can be found here
http://www.ain.cu/2013/mayo/19ya-meteoro_reduccion_desastres.htm

It is in Spanish only, but Google translator works fine http://translate.google.com.cu/translate?hl=es&sl=es&tl=en&u=www.ain.cu%2F2013%2Fmayo%2F19ya-meteoro_reduccion_desastres.htm

On the picture featured on the news report from the Cuban News Agency you can see CO9DCN Club Station (Defensa Civil Nacional – National Civil Defense) being operated by CO2OT in digital modes and CO2JC in voice communications. The satellite demo was done portable on the backyard on Sunday at 14:10 UTC during a SO-50 pass, the press arrived one hour after the satellite pass so unfortunately there is no photo available.

73,

Raydel, CM2ESP
GROS Coordinator

AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB) http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/maillist/

May 21 2013

First picture taken by ESTCube-1 CubeSat amateur radio callsign ES5E

ESTCube-1_first_picture_from_space

The first picture taken by the amateur radio CubeSat ESTCube-1 in space has been released. ESTCube-1 was launched from Kourou in the Caribbean on May 7 at 0206 UT on an ESA Vega rocket into a 704 km orbit.

ESTCube-1 camera on left of board

ESTCube-1 camera on left of board

The hard work of the first two weeks has paid off and the CAM team, leaded by the University of Tartu Computer Technology graduate student Henri Kuuste has this to say: The camera works perfectly and so do all the other subsystems, needed for taking the photo. The first image was captured on May 15 over the Mediterranean Sea, showing the sea, Sahara desert, and Tunisia.

On Monday, May 13 the whole ESTCube-1 team was invited to the reception of the rector of University of Tartu to celebrate the success of the satellite. Watch the video (in English) at http://www.uttv.ee/naita?id=17163

ESTCube-1 at press conference in Tallinn before shipping January 21, 2013 - Image credit University of Tartu

ESTCube-1 at press conference in Tallinn before shipping January 21, 2013 – Image credit University of Tartu

ESTCube-1 was built by students at the University of Tartu. The main mission of the satellite is to test electric solar wind sail technology, a novel space propulsion technology that could revolutionize transportation within the solar system. It will deploy a 10 meter conductive electrodynamic tether and the force interacting with the tether will be measured.

The technology is based on the electrostatic interaction between the electric field generated by the satellite and the high-speed particles being ejected from the Sun. A spacecraft utilizing this method would first deploy a set of electrically charged wires, which allow to generate an electric field over a large area. This area effectively forms a “sail” that can be pushed by the charged particles being diverted by it and therefore transferring momentum to the craft.

ESTCube-1 uses these frequencies:
437.252 MHz – CW beacon, callsign ES5E/S
437.505 MHz – 9600 bps AX.25 telemetry, callsign ES5E-11

Watch ESTCube-1 mission

Electric solar wind sail http://www.electric-sailing.fi/

EstCube on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/estcube/

EstCube website http://www.estcube.eu/en/home

Wiki EstCube-1 http://tinyurl.com/WikiESTCube-1

Keplerian Two Line Elements (TLEs) ‘Keps’ for CubeSats are at
http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/cubesat.txt

Free satellite tracking software:
• SimpleSat Look Down http://www.tomdoyle.org/SimpleSatLookDown/
• Gpredict http://gpredict.oz9aec.net/
• Orbitron http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=9051

May 21 2013

BBC News: US Teenager’s Space Ambitions

Abby HarrisonBBC News reports that fifteen-year-old Abby Harrison is training to be an astronaut and has set herself the goal of being the first person to reach Mars.

“I remember looking up at the night sky when I was five-years-old and thinking that I wanted to go to space” she told the BBC.

Abby is currently in Moscow visiting her mentor, the astronaut Luca Parmitano KF5KDP, who is about to travel to the International Space Station.

Watch the BBC News interview at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22597923

The Star Tribune newspaper says: This week, she’s traveling to Kazakhstan to watch the launch of the Soyuz TMA-09M, a Russian craft headed for the International Space Station on May 28. She’s used her social media prowess to spearhead a successful Kickstarter-like crowdfunding campaign, raising more than $30,000 to help pay for the rare trip.

Star Tribune ‘Astronaut Abby’ is crowdfunding her way to outer space
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/208184441.html

Tech Tuesday: Meet 15-Year Old “Astronaut Abby”
http://www.womenyoushouldknow.net/tech-tuesday-meet-15-year-old-astronaut-abby/

High School Student’s RocketHub Project
http://amsat-uk.org/2013/05/11/high-school-students-rockethub-project/

Further information at

May 20 2013

NEE-01 Pegasus 910 MHz TV Camera in Action

NEE-01 Pegasus (Pegaso) the first of two HD TV CubeSats built in Ecuador launched on a CZ-2D rocket from the Jiuquan Space Center on Friday, April 26 at 0413 UT.

The 1U CubeSat (10x10x10 cm) was built in Ecuador and carries a 0.9 watt output 720p HD TV transmitter on 910 MHz (an amateur radio band in some countries).

Watch NEE-01 Pegaso recording May 16, 2013

EarthCam has teamed up with the Ecuadorian Civilian Space Agency to deliver what EarthCam describe as an amazing viewing experience from an orbiting satellite. You can view the NEE-01 Pegasus SpaceCam online at http://www.earthcam.com/world/ecuador/ecsa/

NEE-01 Pegasus (Pegaso) http://amsat-uk.org/2013/04/25/nee-01-pegasus-hd-tv-cubesat/

May 19 2013

UK Astronaut to fly to International Space Station in 2015

UK astronaut Major Tim Peake

UK astronaut Major Tim Peake

The Guardian newspaper reports that Major Tim Peake has been selected to fly a five-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015.

Tim Peake, from Salisbury in Wiltshire, was chosen for astronaut training in 2009 from 8,400 applicants. Since then he has been undergoing training in a number of locations around the world including Köln in Germany, Star City in Russia and Houston in Texas. He had previously served in the army for 18 years primarily flying Apache helicopters and has seen active service in Afghanistan.

The Guardian newspaper says: 41-year-old Peake has been assigned a lengthy stay in orbit in 2015. He will be blasted into space on a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan in November that year and flown to the space station where he will stay for five months. He will be able to take part in spacewalks and other complex scientific activities.

Helen Sharman GB1MIR

Helen Sharman GB1MIR

Sarah Brightman

Sarah Brightman

On May 18, 1991 the first UK astronaut Helen Sharman GB1MIR flew to the Mir Space Station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and during her 8 day mission contacted a number of radio amateurs around the world. There have been no other UK astronauts since that epic voyage over 22 years ago.

It had been expected that Sarah Brightman would be the second UK astronaut but it looks as though her mission to the ISS will take place after Tim Peake’s.

Read the Guardian newspaper article at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/may/19/tim-peake-mission-space-station

Helen Sharman GB1MIR http://amsat-uk.org/about/history/first-uk-astronaut-helen-sharman-gb1mir/

Sarah Brightman plans ISS mission http://amsat-uk.org/2012/10/10/sarah-brightman-iss/

2013 UK Space Conference Glasgow July 16-17
http://amsat-uk.org/2013/05/18/2013-uk-space-conference-glasgow-july-16-17/

Free CubeSat Workshop Guildford July 19
http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/cubesat-workshop-2013/

AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium Guildford July 20-21
http://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/colloquium-2013/

May 19 2013

AMSAT Fox-1 Ham Radio CubeSat Announcement

Fox-1 CubeSat at the Dayton Hamvention - Image Credit ARRL

AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention – Image Credit ARRL

NASA announced on May 13, 2013 that AMSAT’s Fox-1 amateur radio spacecraft has been assigned for launch in November 2014 on the ELaNa XII mission. The expected orbit is 470 x 780 km at 64 degrees inclination. This orbit has a lifetime of about 11 years.

AMSAT Vice President Engineering, Tony Monteiro, AA2TX, reported that the software development team successfully brought up the Fox-1 system software on the Internal Housekeeping Unit (IHU). The IHU is the brains of the Fox-1 satellite and it has a 32-bit, STM32L microprocessor. The operating IHU card was shown in the AMSAT Engineering booth at the Dayton Hamvention.

AMSAT FOXThe Fox-1 Engineering Team will deliver the satellite for integration with the launch vehicle during May, 2014 with the launch scheduled for November, 2014. Tony commented, “While this is later than we had hoped, it is well within the normal variance of ELaNa launch dates and the extra time will be most welcome for additional satellite testing. This is very exciting news and really puts the focus on finishing the satellite and ground station software development.”

President Barry Baines says, “AMSAT’s focus on STEM education and development of a CubeSat platform capable of flying a science mission with a reliable communications link resulted in the selection of Fox-1 in the third round and RadFxSat (Fox-1B) in the fourth round of NASA’s Cubesat Launch Initiative.”

All Fox CubeSats are designed to host advanced science payloads to support future science missions that help us to continue qualify for NASA ELaNa (free) launches. The Phase 1 Fox satellites are 1-Unit CubeSats. They each include an analog FM repeater that will allow simple ground stations using an HT and an “arrow” type antenna to make contacts using the satellite. This was the mode made so popular by AO-51. The Phase 1 CubeSats also have the capability of operating in a high-speed digital mode for data communications. Phase 2 Fox satellites will include software-defined-transponders (SDX) like the one tested on ARISSat-1. These will be able to operate in a wide variety of analog and digital communications modes including linear transponders. Since this requires more power for reliable operation, these will probably all be 3-Unit CubeSats.

Source: AMSAT News Service (ANS) http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=443

AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB) http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/maillist/