Monthly Archives: March 2013

Mar 18 2013

BBC – ESA seeks help to control robot spacecraft

Parrot AR Drone 2.0

Parrot AR Drone 2.0

BBC News report that the European Space Agency (ESA) is turning to owners of terrestrial robot aircraft to aid those that journey into space.

The agency has released an App that makes use of the cameras on the Parrot drone to simulate docking with a virtual space station.

The Parrot drone quadcopter has proved popular with many iPhone owners as it can be controlled via the 2.4 GHz WiFi signal from the handset.

Data generated by the agency’s App will be analyzed to help fine tune navigation software for its own drones.

Read the BBC story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21828807

ESA Smartphone App Turns Drone into Spacecraft
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Technology/Smartphone_app_turns_home_drone_into_spacecraft

Middlesex Foundation Radio Hams success in UAV (Drone) competition
https://amsat-uk.org/2012/07/12/middlesex-radio-hams-success-in-uav-competition/

Mar 17 2013

Nanosatellite Separation Experiment Using a P-POD Deployment Mechanism

AMSAT-UK_Bevelled_LogoThese video shows CubeSat deployment experiments carried out in a weightless environment on the “Vomit Comet” aircraft by students from the University of Texas.

The team write:

Nanosatellites are becoming increasingly common in the aerospace industry due to their reduced size, small mass, and economical cost. These small satellites will often operate in groups rather than as single satellites, and once they are clear of the carrier, separate from one another.One topic of immense interest is the characterization of the separation dynamics of such satellites.

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Mar 17 2013

LOHAN hooks up with radio ham and top-flight rocketeer G7ALW

Vulture 2 Spaceplane - Image credit LOHAN

Vulture 2 Spaceplane – Image credit LOHAN

The Register reports that the Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) team will be working with radio amateur Paul Shackleton G7ALW.

The report by Lester Haines says Paul G7ALW will be working on the Vulture 2 spaceplane.

Laying out his electronics credentials, Paul said he “designed, built and sold the TRAXA radio beacons  for several years, and there must be about 400 of them in circulation, from the USA to Oz”.

When he’s not earning a crust, Paul splits his free time between “geocaching, 4×4 green laning in my Defender, trying to build a L3 rocket, Ham Radio and watching the occasional episode of The Big Bang Theory“.

Read The Register story at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/15/lohan_rocketeer/

TRAXA 433.920 MHz radio beacons
http://www.radiometrix.com/files/additional/Traxa-Rocketry-Case-Study-Feb-05.pdf

LOHAN http://www.theregister.co.uk/Wrap/lohan/

Vulture 2 Spaceplane http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01/31/vulture_2/

Mar 17 2013

FCC Guidance On Obtaining Licenses For Small Satellites

Image of a CubeSat in Space

Image of a CubeSat in Space

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Public Notice to provide guidance concerning FCC licensing of spectrum for use by small satellites, including satellites that fall within the categories of pico-satellites, nano-satellites and cubesats.

The advent of such small satellite designs has brought with it dramatically lower launch costs, enabling a larger range of organizations to directly launch satellites. Institutions such as universities and research organizations that previously found it cost prohibitive to launch their own satellite can now participate in the exploration of space. Many of these participants may be unfamiliar with the spectrum licensing, scheduling and other requirements attendant on satellites. This Public Notice seeks to alert affected parties of these requirements and thus aid small satellite operators in the planning necessary for a successful launch operation.

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Mar 16 2013

NASA EDGE – CubeSat Launch Initiative

NASA EDGE talks to NASA about how they’re helping students and professionals launch their own mini satellites known as CubeSats. The CubeSat Launch Initiative provides new opportunities for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics by helping people design, launch and collect data.

Watch NASA EDGE CubeSat Launch Initiative

Mar 16 2013

ESTCube-1 Tether Satellite hopes for Spring launch

Artists impression of ESTCube-1 in space - Image credit University of Tartu

Artists impression of ESTCube-1 in space – Image credit University of Tartu

Estonia’s first CubeSat ESTCube-1, amateur radio callsign ES5E/S, is planning to launch from Kourou in the Caribbean in the Spring on an ESA VEGA rocket.

Built by students at the University of Tartu ESTCube-1 the main mission of the satellite is to test electric solar wind sail technology, a novel space propulsion technology that could revolutionalize 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 by being diverted by it and therefore transferring momentum to the craft.

The team also aim to capture images of Estonia for outreach purposes.

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