This is a challenge open to launch a balloon/payload from the UK that crosses the Arctic Circle before the next UKHAS Conference in September 2014.
The challenge will require both development of a payload, launching a floating balloon but also the ability to receive the data confirming it has crossed the Arctic Circle.
There is a prize for the first person to complete this challenge, obviously eternal glory but also a trophy and a cash prize.
This computer-generated image depicts NASA’s Juno spacecraft firing its Leros-1b main engine – credit NASA
Radio amateurs around the world took part in an experiment with NASA’s Juno spacecraft as it did a flyby of Earth.
SDR display showing 28 MHz transmissions taken by Dmitry Pashkov UB4UAD
NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew past Earth on Wednesday, October 9, 2013 to receive a gravity assist from our planet, putting it on course for Jupiter.
To celebrate this event, the Juno mission invited amateur radio operators around the world to say “HI” to Juno in a coordinated Morse Code message that would be detected by Juno’s radio and plasma wave experiment, called Waves.
Radio amateurs transmitted Morse (CW) signals on a range of frequencies between 28.001 and 28.450 MHz. To give a random spread the precise frequency used depended on the last character of each stations call sign. The natural signals the team expect to measure at Jupiter will consist of a large number of discrete tones, so spreading the signals out in this manner was a good approximation to the signals Juno is expected to detect. But at Jupiter, they don’t expect to be able to decode CW in the telemetry!
The Waves instrument is sensitive to radio signals in all amateur bands below 40 MHz. However, experience with the University of Iowa instruments on the Galileo and Cassini Earth flybys showed significant shielding by the ionosphere at lower frequencies, so the 28 MHz band was chosen for the experiment.
Juno’s antenna consists of a pair of tapered 2.8 meter long titanium tubes, deployed from the bottom deck of the spacecraft under the +X solar array and magnetometer boom. A high impedance radiation resistant preamp sits at the base of the antenna and buffers the signals from 50 Hz to 45 MHz. The elements are deployed with an opening angle of about 120 degrees. 28 MHz is above the resonant frequency of the antenna and NEC analysis indicates a lobe generally along the spin axis of the spacecraft. This will be good for detection on the inbound part of closest approach to Earth.
The Waves instrument uses four receivers to cover the frequency range of 50 Hz to 41 MHz. Signals up to 3 MHz are bandpass filtered, sampled by A/D converters and FFT processed into spectra using a custom FFT processor developed by The University of Iowa under a grant from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium.
Among those taking part were students at Virginia Tech using their club station K4KDJ.
Peter Goodhall 2E0SQL, a well known amateur radio satellite operator, will be giving a presentation on the Raspberry Pi computer board at the RSGB Convention this weekend .
Peter Goodhall 2E0SQL operating portable through the satellites
The popular Raspberry Pi has been used for many different amateur radio applications. Peter’s presentation will be given at 14:30-15:15 on Saturday, October 12.
The RSGB’s Centenary Convention, sponsored by Martin Lynch & Sons, takes place this weekend (Fri eve-Sun) October 11-13 at Horwood House, MK17 0PH just a few miles outside Milton Keynes. Tickets are available on the door.
Dr Chris Bridges M6OBC working on STRaND-1 – Image credit Surrey Space Centre
Dr Chris Bridges M6OBC of the Surrey Space Centre is one of the volunteers who developed the UK’s first CubeSat STRaND-1 on 437.568 MHz.
The STRaND-1 build and test phase took just 3 months
At 14:45 on Saturday, October 12 [note change in day/time] he will be providing an update on the satellite to those attending the RSGB Convention near Milton Keynes.
Launched on February 25, 2013 STRaND-1 was the first satellite to carry a Smartphone into space and attracted world-wide media interest.
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.
The RSGB’s Centenary Convention, sponsored by Martin Lynch & Sons, takes place this weekend (Fri eve-Sun) October 11-13 at Horwood House, MK17 0PH just a few miles outside Milton Keynes. Tickets are available on the door.
Ofcom will be represented at this weekends RSGB Convention by radio amateur Paul Jarvis G8RMM and Ash Gohil.
The RSGB’s Centenary Convention, sponsored by Martin Lynch & Sons, takes place this weekend (Fri eve-Sun) October 11-13 at Horwood House, MK17 0PH just a few miles outside Milton Keynes. Tickets are available on the door.
Paul and Ash will be giving a presentation titled ‘Outline of the forthcoming Amateur Licence Review’ which will take place on Sunday, October 13 between 11:15 and 12:00.
The RSGB is currently holding an online forum, open to all, to discuss the licence review.
AMSAT-UK 
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