Mike Rupprecht DK3WN has released a new version of the STRaND-1 telemetry decoder that incorporates the recent telemetry changes from the STRaND team.
Download Version 1.50 [27.03.2013] BETA from http://tinyurl.com/SatSoftwareDK3WN/
STRaND-1 http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/
STRaND-1 telemetry http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/strand-1-telemetry/
STRaND-1 videos http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/strand-1-videos/
The STRaND-1 team have released a new version of the Excel Spreadsheet for the STRaND-1 Telemetry which is now updated with switch details.
Dr Susan Jason working on STRaND-1
Download the new spreadsheet from http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/strand-1-telemetry/
Mike Rupprecht DK3WN has been working on new software which compares the magnetometer values sent by STRaND-1 in comparison to the NOAA World Magnetic Mode (WMM2010). Further information at http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=31826
Surrey Space Centre report that the STRAND-1 satellite is healthy and in the coming weeks they hope to be able to switch-on the Google Nexus One smartphone carried by the CubeSat.
STRaND-1 page http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/
STRaND-1 Ground Station Antennas
Surrey Space Centre report that the STRAND-1 satellite is healthy but they have had new ground station teething problems. That has diverted effort and delayed the eagerly awaited switch-on of the Google Nexus One smartphone carried by the CubeSat.
The team are currently scouting University of Surrey rooftops for a better antenna position for STRaND-1.
The STRaND-1 downlink frequency is 437.568 MHz using 9k6 bps AX.25 packet radio. Details of the telemetry format are at http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/strand-1-telemetry/
Surrey Space Centre https://www.facebook.com/pages/Surrey-Space-Centre/147861435274871
Follow Surrey Space Centre https://twitter.com/SpaceAtSurrey
Image Credit Spaceflight Inc
Several CubeSats carrying amateur radio payloads are planned to launch on the Antares-110 mission in April.
On the CubeSat mailing list Jason Andrews President and CEO of both Spaceflight Inc and Andrews Space posted:
Spaceflight Inc recently completed CubeSat integration activities for the Antares demonstration mission including deployment dress rehersal. Spaceflight has two ISIPod deployers on this mission. One contains three 1U spacecraft for NASA Ames Research Center and the other contains a 3U spacecraft for a commercial customer. An image of the integration activity can be found here:
https://twitter.com/SpaceflightInc/status/306880665624924161/photo/1
Among the amateur radio CubeSats on the launch are three Phonesats which will all carry Google Nexus smartphones similar to the pioneering UK smartphone satellite STRaND-1 that was launched in February. There will be two PhoneSat 1.0′s and one PhoneSat 2.0 on the launch.
PhoneSat 1.0 cost about $3500 and is built around the Nexus One smartphone, it operates on battery power only with a mission lifetime of approx 1 week.
PhoneSat 2.0 is more expensive at $8000. It is built around the Nexus S smartphone and has solar panels on each face and a mission lifetime until de-orbit of approximately 2 weeks.
The IARU amateur satellite frequency coordination panel have coordinated frequencies of 437.425 MHz and 2401.2-2431.2MHz for the PhoneSats.
Also on the launch is the Dove-1 CubeSat. The Antares-110 launcher is expected to deploy the satellites into a 250 km 51.6° inclination orbit.
STRaND-1 PSLV-C20 Launch – Image credit ISRO
On the AMSAT Bulletin Board Alan WA4SCA has posted information from Space Track of the object-satellite pairings for the PSLV-C20 launch that carried the UK smartphone satellite STRaND-1 into space. He writes:
JSpOC [Joint Space Operations Center] has named the following satellites:
39086 – SARAL
39087 – AAUSAT3
39088 – SAPPHIRE
39089 – NEOSSAT
39090 – STRAND 1
39091 – CANX 3A (BRITE-ASRA)
39092 – CANX 3B (UNIBRITE)
39093 – PSLV R/B
39094 – PSLV DEB
Due to catalog requirements, which requires payloads to be listed prior to the rocket body and another launch debris, objects 39086, 39087, 39092, 39093, and 39094 had to be shifted to be placed in proper sequence.
Elsets were shifted as follows:
39086 was moved to 39093 (PSLV R/B)
39087 was moved to 39094 (PSLV DEB)
39092 was moved to 39086 (SARAL)
39093 was moved to 39087 (AAUSAT3)
39094 was moved to 39092 (CANX 3B)
Roland Zurmely PY4ZBZ in Brazil has received the 437.568 MHz telemetry signal from the STRaND-1 smartphone satellite launched on Monday, February 25.
See his STRaND-1 telemetry page in Google English at http://tinyurl.com/cf8l8n4
Page in Portugese http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/strand.htm
Information on decoding the STRaND-1 amateur radio telemetry beacon
STRaND-1 PSLV-C20 Launch – Image credit ISRO
STRaND-1 carries an amateur radio AX.25 packet radio downlink on 437.568 MHz using 9600 bps FSK modulated data with HDLC frame, NRZI encoding.
Dr Chris Bridges would be delighted to receive all available telemetry files by email to C.P.Bridges@surrey.ac.uk
Excel Spreadsheet of STRaND-1 Telemetry Format_20130327
On the AMSAT Bulletin Board Mark Hammond N8MH has provided these tips to decode STRaND-1:
(1) Sprint-2 TNC set at 9600 baud in KISS mode (or any 9600 in KISS mode probably)
(2) Using this software to capture:
http://www.dk3wn.info/files/online_kiss_plus.zip
(3) And using this software to decode the captured KISS files:
http://www.dk3wn.info/files/kissdump.zip
Thanks to Mike Rupprecht DK3WN for the excellent software.
Jan PE0SAT describes how he used the free TNC emulator software AGWPE and SDR# to decode the telemetry. This approach means you don’t have to buy a dedicated hardware TNC it simply uses your existing PC and radio that supports 9600 bps data:
(1) Record a pass using SDR# and a FUNcube Dongle Pro+ and save the IQ wav file so you can work with it after the pass.
(2) Configure AGW Packet Engine (AGWPE) as a 9600 baud modem using your audio mixer as input. If you don’t have an audio mixer, use audio VAC to route the received audio to the AGW audio input.
(3) When the AGW packet engine is running use AGW-Online-KISS from DK3WN to connect to the packet engine and decode the telemetry.
(4) Open the IQ wav file within SDR# and playback the recorded file and tune to the correct receive frequency, now you can see decoded data within Online-Kiss.
(5) Feed the files captured to KISS-Dump
STRaND-1 Ground Station Antennas
Descriptions of ONLINE KISS +, AGW ONLINE KISS and KISS Dump + are at http://tinyurl.com/SatSoftwareDK3WN/
The free AGWPE soundcard packet software AGWPE.zip is available at http://www.sv2agw.com/downloads/
Guide on how to use AGWPE http://www.soundcardpacket.org/
Tracking Information
Free satellite tracking software:
• SimpleSat Look Down http://www.tomdoyle.org/SimpleSatLookDown/
• Gpredict http://gpredict.oz9aec.net/
• Orbitron http://www.amsat-uk.org/?p=9051
Hector Martinez CO6CBF
On the AMSAT bulletin board Hector Martinez, CO6CBF, reports receiving the smartphone satellite STRaND-1 using a FUNcube Dongle Software Defined Radio (SDR).
He posted:
On the 22:36 UTC pass both STRaND-1 and AAUSAT3 have been heard in Cienfuegos city (EL92sd). I was running a FUNcube Dongle with SDR-Radio V1.5 and a homebrew ARROW antenna with a homebrew preamplifier. The STRaND-1 beacon has a great signal (S9+).
Congratulations to the STRaND-1 and AAUSAT3 teams for the great job!
Information on the STRaND-1 smartphonecsatellite is at http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/
Join the FUNcube Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FUNcube
Further information on the FUNcubeDongle Software Defined Radio is at http://www.FUNcubeDongle.com/
Dr Susan Jason working on STRaND-1
The first UK CubeSat, STRaND-1, was launched on Monday, February 25 at 1231 UT on the PSLV-C20 rocket from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Satish Dhawan space centre. Deployment from the launch vehicle into a 785 km orbit took place about 20 minutes later. Signals from STRaND-1 were received by Nader Omer ST2NH in Sudan at 1555 UT and by the Surrey Space Centre on Monday evening.
STRaND stands for Surrey Training, Research and Nanosatellite Demonstration and the programme is intended to be a long-term arrangement between the space company SSTL and academic researchers at the Surrey Space Centre (SSC), with STRaND-1 the first of a long line of STRaND nanosatellites.
The SSTL employees and SSC researchers involved with the STRaND programme are all volunteers. It is a condition of the programme that volunteers from SSTL and SSC use their own, free time for STRaND activities (such as lunches and breaks). The project has no budget for staff so is entirely dependent on volunteers.
The innovative STRaND-1 CubeSat was built and tested in just three months. It will demonstrate the feasibility of using cheap smartphone electronics to control a spacecraft. STRaND-1 carries an amateur radio AX.25 packet radio downlink on 437.568 MHz using 9k6 bps FSK modulated data HDLC frame, NRZI encoding. The telemetry format is available here. Watch the videos in the STRaND-1 video archive.
Further information on STRaND-1 at http://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/
Watch Launch of Indian PSLV Rocket with Saral & 6 Commercial Secondary Payloads
SSTL launch press release http://www.sstl.co.uk/News-and-Events.aspx?story=2123
STRaND-1 Ground Station Antennas
The UK smartphone amateur radio satellite STRaND-1 should launch Feb. 25 at 1225 UT.
At the heart of STRaND-1 is a Google Nexus One smartphone with an Android operating system. Smartphones contain highly advanced technologies and incorporate several key features that are integral to a satellite – such as cameras, radio links, accelerometers and high performance computer processors – almost everything a spacecraft needs except the solar panels and propulsion.
Being the first smartphone satellite in orbit is just one of many ‘firsts’ that STRaND-1 is hoping to achieve. It will also fly innovative new technologies such as a ‘WARP DRiVE’ (Water Alcohol Resistojet Propulsion Deorbit Re-entry Velocity Experiment) and electric Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTs); both ‘firsts’ to fly on a nanosatellite. It is also flying a 3D printed part – believed to be the first to fly in space!
A video of ground station testing has just been released.
