Pocket Spacecraft

On Thursday, May 15, the BBC Radio 4 Today show featured an item on the recently launched 437 MHz Sprite satellites and the new Pocket Spacecraft being developed by a UK radio amateur.

KickSat Sprite satellites deployed – Image by Ben Bishop VK2FBRB

The tiny Sprite satellites, measuring 3x3cm and just a few millimetres thick, contain a 437 MHz transmitter, solar cell, sensor and antenna. The CubeSat KickSat-1 carrying 104 Sprites was successfully launched on April 18, however, a suspected radiation glitch meant they could not be deployed before the CubeSat burnt up on re-entry on May 14.

UK radio amateur Michael Johnson M0MJJ has developed Pocket Spacecraft known as ‘Scouts’. A ‘Scout’ is a wafer thin disk with flexible electronics, smaller than a CD, containing a transceiver, antenna and solar cells. It is hoped to carry them in a CubeSat which would deploy them in Lunar orbit. It is understood that frequencies in the 435 MHz and 2400 MHz bands may be used.

Listen to the BBC Radio 4 clip ‘Pocket spacecrafts’ to become a reality in which BBC Click’s Spencer Kelly discusses the development of pocket spacecrafts http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01z4q22

It is expected that Pocket Spacecraft will feature in the BBC TV technology show ‘Click’ due to be released online on Saturday, May 17 at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m9ry

KickSat-1 launch https://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/18/successful-launch-of-kicksat-carrying-104-sprite-satellites/

British Interplanetary Society: Sprite Technical Summary
http://www.bis-space.com/2013/03/09/9301/kicksat-technical-summary

UK radio amateur plans Lunar Pocket Spacecraft https://amsat-uk.org/2013/08/26/uk-radio-hams-lunar-cubesat-to-go-ahead/

Pocket Spacecraft http://pocketspacecraft.com/

437 MHz Sprite