Graham Shirville G3VZV working on the ESEO FUNcube-4 amateur radio payload – Credit 2E0OBC

AMSAT-UK members have been busy this week working on the FUNcube-4 amateur radio payload for the new European Student Earth Orbiter (ESEO) satellite. On Friday, August 7, 2015 they tested the transponder and it seems to work fine. More testing and characterisation will follow over the next few days.

ESEO FUNcube-4 Engineering Model

This is the third mission within the European Space Agency’s Education Satellite Programme. The satellite, which has a mass of 40 kg and measures 33x33x63 cm, is planned to launch into a Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The spacecraft will carry a 1260/145 MHz FM transponder and 145 MHz 1200 bps BPSK telemetry beacon to provide a telemetry downlink that can be easily received by schools and colleges for educational outreach purposes. The data will be displayed in an attractive format and provide stimulation and encouragement for students to become interested in all STEM subjects in a unique way.

The target audience is primarily students at both primary and secondary levels and the project includes the development of a simple and cheap “ground station” operating on VHF frequencies in the Amateur Satellite Service. This station is an omni-directional antenna feeding a FUNcube DonglePRO+ SDR receiver which will receive the signals direct from the satellite and transfer the data to specially developed graphical software running on any Windows laptop.

Watch “ESEO Payload Update” by Chris 2E0OBC and Graham G3VZV at 2015 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium

Download the ESEO Presentation Slides

2015 International Space Colloquium Presentations Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/user/AMSATUK/playlists