This computer-generated image depicts NASA’s Juno spacecraft firing its Leros-1b main engine – credit NASA
In a post on the AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB) Andy Thomas G0SFJ informs us of a presentation on Tuesday, December 10 regarding the amateur radio “Say Hi to Juno” project.
In October, the Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft did a flyby of Earth before its long journey. The Juno team presents a low-resolution Earth flyby video as well as data acquired by the spacecraft as it zipped past the home planet. Team members will also discuss results from the mission’s outreach campaign inviting amateur radio operators to “Say Hi to Juno” as the spacecraft passed, and the scientific goals for the mission once it reaches Jupiter.
Participants:
Scott Bolton, Juno principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA;
John Joergensen, Juno star-camera team lead, Danish Technical University, Copenhagen, Denmark;
Bill Kurth, co-investigator for the Juno Waves Investigation, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
The $50SAT team is asking for help in capturing telemetry from the amateur radio 1.5U PocketQube satellite $50SAT on 437.505 MHz (+/-9 kHz Doppler shift) CW.
$50SAT Boards
We are trying to determine the charging characteristics of the power system. The three team members all live above 40 degrees north and the satellite does not warm up enough during nighttime N-S passes to allow charging to begin. None of us are usually around during the daytime S-N passes and we would particularly appreciate telemetry reports when the satellite is in daylight.
Any form of report is welcome: decode of the fast Morse (120 WPM), RTTY demod, audio recording or I/Q capture from a FUNcube or RTL dongle would be greatly appreciated.
A link to a detailed description of the communications package can be found on the $50SAT website, http://www.50dollarsat.info/. The last distribution of Keps from AMSAT contain good elements for $50SAT.
$50SAT a 1.5U PocketQube
$50SAT is one of the smallest amateur radio satellites ever launched at 5x5x7.5 cm and weighs only 210 grams. Transmitter power is just 100 mW.
$50SAT has been a collaborative education project between Professor Bob Twiggs, KE6QMD, Morehead State University and three other radio amateurs, Howie DeFelice, AB2S, Michael Kirkhart, KD8QBA, and Stuart Robinson, GW7HPW.
The $50SAT team plan to make all the software and hardware designs freely available to anyone who wants them for personal or educational use. For further information see the $50SAT Dropbox at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/l3919wtfiywk2gf/-HxyXNsIr8
Dr Sara Seager KB1WTW at the US House of Representatives December 4, 2013
Dr. Sara Seager, KB1WTW, Class of 1941 Professor of Physics and Planetary Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology addressed the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, United States House of Representatives December 4, 2013.
Invited witnesses were:
Dr. Mary Voytek
Senior Scientist for Astrobiology, Planetary Science Division
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Dr. Sara Seager KB1WTW
Class of 1941 Professor of Physics and Planetary Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Steven Dick
Baruch S. Blumberg Chair of Astrobiology, John W. Kluge Center
Library of Congress
Dr. Sara Seager KB1WTW highlights the importance of CubeSats in education at 0:46 into this video.
Watch Astrobiology: Search for Biosignatures in our Solar System, House Space Committee, Dec 4, 13
FUNcube-1 flight model – Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG
The AMSAT News Service (ANS) reports Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK has been working the new AO-73 satellite from his back yard. Most of the time, he has been using his normal portable all-mode satellite station – two Yaesu FT-817NDs, Elk handheld 2m/70cm log periodic antenna. On November 30 he replaced one of the FT-817NDs with a Kenwood TH-F6A – using its all-mode receiver to copy the downlink. December 1 he used an Icom IC-R20 receiver for the downlink. He’s used these radios in the past on other satellites, and for some hamfest demonstrations on VO-52 Patrick had used the FT-817ND/TH-F6A combination. He has made a series of videos (satellite audio combined with slideshows) from several AO-73 passes he has worked. They are available at:
One of the AO-73 videos contains audio from two passes, and is about twice as long as the others which have audio from a single pass.
Watch WD9EWK working AO-73/FUNcube-1 from Scottsdale AZ (DM43bn) – Dec 1, 2013 0542 UT
After working these passes, he is convinced that this new satellite performs as well as VO-52, for both its uplink and downlink. This is a very good thing! AO-73 hears very well, as long as you’re careful to match the polarization of the satellite’s antennas. The downlink is strong enough to allow the use any of these radios as the receiver on higher passes. For lower passes, he will probably use his second FT-817ND for the downlink receiver. It is good to know that, at least on the higher passes, there are lots of options for a downlink receiver. On the same higher passes, he learned that he can cut the power down from 5W to 1W and even 500mW. High power is not necessary to be heard through the transponder.
Final gluing of FUNcube-1 bolt by Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG – Image credit Gerard Aalbers
Patrick’s next project with AO-73 will be using a FUNcube Dongle Pro+ as the downlink receiver, for both the transponder and telemetry, while working the transponder with an FT-817ND as his transmit radio. He reinstalled HDSDR and its ExtIO DLL for the Pro+ Dongle on his 64-bit Windows 7 laptop, and it is working well. He will be installing the FUNcube-1 Dashboard software. Patrick has an old netbook running Linux, and is curious to see how the dongle works with that operating system. His hope is to be able to use the dongle and a laptop as the downlink receiver, without being wiped out by the 5W signals from an FT-817ND.
If all is successful, he believes he will have a new combination for his all-mode satellite station that he can use for upcoming demonstrations. Using the dongle and dashboard software during daytime AO-73 passes at hamfests would be something different, and a great thing to show off to the hamfest crowds.
Patrick thanks all who worked on getting this satellite built and launched. “Even with the transponder on only for the nighttime passes, it has been fun to be on a new satellite so soon after its launch.”
ANS thanks Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK for the above information
Rizwan Merchant KF5BNL writes: I am pleased to announce the first public release of the CAPE-2 GroundStation Software Lite Edition has been released. The software will help decode, receive data and send limited commands to the satellite in orbit. For more information, refer to the link below.
For all users, please use this program when tracking CAPE-2, and try issuing both commands, and send us back the results. The data obtained from these commands are very valuable to the team, and we appreciate the help and support from everyone the past few weeks.
UPDATE: Following the requests from the community to allow users to input custom baud rates for the serial settings, I have released a newer version of the ground station software. Please uninstall your old copies, and install the new one.
AMSAT-UK 
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