ISRO PSLV-C37 Launch

The Indian Space Agency ISRO successfully launched the amateur radio satellite Nayif-1 along with 103 other satellites, a record for a single launch. The PSLV-C37 lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at 03:58 UT on Wednesday, February 15, 2017.

Nayif-1 was developed by UAE students – Image credit The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre

Nayif-1 started transmitting about an hour after launch and radio amateurs in the west of the USA reported the first signals. The first frame of data received at the Data Warehouse was from Christy Hunter KB6LTY. Telemetry data was also received by WA6FWF, KA7FVV, WC7V, NC7V, K6FW, KE7QPV, WA9ONY, W5PFG, KK6AYK.

Ken Eaton GW1FKY reports he received his first frames of data when the satellite came in range of the UK at 10:07 UT.

The satellite looks to be in perfect health and it was placed in autonomous mode before the end of the first day in orbit. Just like FUNcube-1, this mode has the spacecraft sending high power telemetry when in sunlight and with the SSB/CW transponder active when in eclipse. Already many contacts have been made through the transponder. As expected, the frequency stability of this spacecraft is much better than its predecessors.

The launch provider has published a video of the deployment of the 104 satellites

A new post-launch set of TLE’s has been issued by the launch authority and it can be downloaded from http://amsat-nl.org/download/NAYIF_TLE.txt

Please note that these numbers are not based on JSpOC observations so we do not yet have a valid catalog number.

On February 24, Nico Janssen PA0DLO reported that detailed Doppler measurements show that Nayif-1 is object 42017, 2017-008BX

During the Launch and Early Operation phase (LEOP) of the mission, the Nayif-1 command team have been headquartered at the American University of Sharjah Ground station in the United Arab Emirates. They have been very grateful for all the telemetry received from around the world. It has proven to be immensely useful to the team in checking that the spacecraft is functioning correctly.

Nayif-1 Deployment

Our world-wide network has greatly impressed the many professionals that have been watching our activities. Already more than 100 ground stations are submitting data to the Nayif Data Warehouse. Please continue uploading the data as this will further enhance our knowledge about the spacecraft and the space environment through which it is traveling at 7.6 km/s.

The Nayif-1 Data Warehouse has been updated and now includes the Whole Orbit, High Resolution graphs and the upload ranking. It also includes telemetry details from the ADCS sub-system – this is called the iMTQ and is capable of actively magnetorquing. Over the coming days, we will be further tweaking the warehouse, so bear with us if it is unavailable for short periods of time.

Background
Nayif-1 has been developed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and American University of Sharjah (AUS). The UAE’s first Nanosatellite was developed by Emirati engineering students from AUS under the supervision of a team of engineers and specialists from MBRSC within the framework of a partnership between the two entities, aiming to provide hands-on experience to engineering students on satellite manufacturing.

The spacecraft includes a U/V linear transponder and telemetry transmitter. It employs enhanced oscillator circuitry and includes an active attitude determination and control system.

The operating frequencies for the spacecraft are:

Telemetry
145.940 MHz using 1k2 BPSK to the FUNcube standard.

SSB/CW Transponder
Uplink on 435.045 – 435.015 MHz
Downlink on 145.960 – 145.990 MHz

The Nayif-1 Telemetry Dashboard can be downloaded from
http://download.funcube.org.uk/nayif-1_Dashboard_1039_Installer.msi

Guidance notes https://funcubetest2.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/nayif-1_dashboard_notes_release_1-0b.pdf

A file to test that the Dashboard and Warehouse configuration are working correctly
http://download.funcube.org.uk/nayif1_testfile.funcubebin

Nayif-1 Data Warehouse http://data.amsat-uk.org/nayif1/

Pre-launch TLEs (use those from link above) http://download.funcube.org.uk/nayif_tle.txt

Keplerian Two Line Elements (TLEs) ‘Keps’ for satellites launched in past 30 days, Nico PA0DLO suggests using object 42017, 2017-008BX http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/tle-new.txt

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

ISIS gets 101 CubeSats launched during record breaking PSLV launch
https://www.isispace.nl/dutch-nanosatellite-company-gets-101-cubesats-launched-recordbreaking-pslv-launch/