Danish CubeSats head for ISS

GomX-3 being built – Credit ESA

Two CubeSats built in Denmark, GomX-3 and AAUSat-5, are on their way to the International Space Station.

Danish Astronaut Andreas Mogensen KG5GCZ and Murray Niman G6JYB

Japan’s fifth H-II Transfer Vehicle blasted off from Tanegashima Space Center on Wednesday, August 19 at 1150 UT. The HTV-5 is expected to arrive at the ISS on August 24 and the CubeSats will be unloaded for later deployment.

The 3 Unit CubeSat GomX-3 is part of the outreach programme for the visit of the Danish astronaut, Andreas Mogensen KG5GCZ @Astro_Andreas, to the ISS. His Soyuz spacecraft is expected to launch on September 2. The project is supported and coordinated with ESA and the Danish Ministry of Science and Education.

A number of outreach activities are being planned that will involve schools, radio amateur societies and social media both during the astronaut mission and continuing with the CubeSat mission. The IARU have coordinated 437.250 MHz for the 1k2-9k6 bps beacon.

AAUSat-5 and Deployer – Credit ESA

AAUsat-5 is a 1 Unit CubeSat built by students at Aalborg University. The primary mission is to test an improved receiver for detecting Automatic Identification System signals emitted by ships. Down on the ground, these signals are short-range, operating mainly on a ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship basis, leaving large spans of the world’s oceans uncovered. But signals also travel up to orbital altitude, opening up the prospect of worldwide monitoring. The IARU have coordinated 437.425 MHz for the GMSK beacon.

Once deployed the two spacecraft may have a lifetime of around 6-9 months before they burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Watch AAUSAT5 CubeSat mission from the International Space Station

Andreas attended the 2009 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium in Guildford.

Andreas Mogensen KG5GCZ http://andreasmogensen.esa.int/

IARU coordinated satellite frequencies information is at http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished.php

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