CAMSAT XW-2A formerly known as CAS-3A

Nine XW-2/CAS-3 amateur radio satellites were successfully launched on Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 23:01:14 UT on Beijing’s new Chang Zheng 6 (CZ-6) rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (TSLC) in Shanxi.

Six satellites (designated XW-2A to XW-2F) carry 435/145 MHz U/V linear transponders for SSB/CW communications, LilacSat-2 (CAS-3H) has a V/U FM voice transponder and APRS. The other two satellites DCBB (CAS-3G) and NUDT‐Phone‐Sat (CAS-3i) only have telemetry downlinks.

The satellites were deployed into a 528 km by 551 km 97.5 degree inclination orbit. The NASA Orbital Lifetime Software provides an indication as to how long the satellites might remain in orbit before reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere:
• XW-2A = 8.5 years
• XW-2B/2C/2D = 9.2 years
• XW-2E/2F = 8.5 years
• LilacSat-2 = 18.2 years

The frequencies used by the satellites are here. Some satellite frequencies fall outside the international amateur satellite bandplan, so please be aware of local terrestrial users.

David Bowman G0MRF reported “Good signals from CAS3-F at 07.00 UTC  over Europe. Managed QSOs with SP5ULN in KO02  and F1AFZ in JN17 using the special event station at GB0RWC (Rugby World Cup).”

XW-2 / CAS-3 Satellite Frequencies PDF

For the latest status reports join the AMSAT Bulletin Board at
http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

Further information on the XW-2 (CAS-3) satellites is at
https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/communications/camsat-xw-2/

LilacSat-2 https://amsat-uk.org/2015/09/20/lilacsat-2-linux-telemetry-decoding/

Online orbital predictor (select XW-2) http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/predict/index.php

Satellite tracking information https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/satellite-tracking/

Adding new satellites to SatPC32, Gpredict and Nova
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/11/23/adding-new-satellites-to-satpc32/

NASA Orbital Lifetime Software http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/mitigate/das.html