Category Daily Updates

Apr 4 2012

IARU Announces Coordinated Frequencies for Two CubeSats

The IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel have announced coordinated frequencies for two new CubeSats.

The downlink frequencies announced are:

TechEdSat  – 437.465 MHz
HumSAT-D  – 437.365 MHz

IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination Status http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/

To assist builders and prospective builders of satellites that will operate on frequencies allocated by the ITU to the Amateur Service, a comprehensive set of guidelines have been produced, see  http://www.iaru.org/satellite/

Apr 4 2012

AUC – CubeSat I AUC has decided to join the quest for space technology, and develop the 1st ever student-built satellite in Egypt.

 

The CubeSat Program has revolutionized the space industry and space activities. Access to space turned from an obscure dream to a vivid reality to many research and academic institutions around the world. The American University in Cairo has the capacity and the expertise to join this prestigious club of ambitious institutions in the quest for space technology. Contrary to the belief that it requires a team of rocket scientists to design, build, and operate a spacecraft, the project is a multi-disciplinary effort, leveraging insight and expertise accross multiple science and engineering discip-lines. AUC will be the first institution in the Arab Region to design and build a satellite.

This multidisciplinary project will stimulate technological research and innovation across many departments at AUC. Having hands on access to conceiving, designing, building and operating actual spacecrafts will provide students with a level of prestigious, unprecedented, interdisciplinary experience. In addition to the technical knowledge, students will develop leadership qualities, as well as project manag-ement and interpersonal skills that are invaluable in todays market, all of which will start to accumulate at the national level as students leave the university and enter the local industry. If you are interested in joining the CubeSat design team, and being part of this prestigious endeavor, please visit the “Join AUC – CubeSat” page for more information. Fady Michel, Ph.D. AUC – CubeSat System Architect AUC.CubeSat@gmail.com

http://www.SpaceExploration-eg.com/

Apr 2 2012

First-MOVE CubeSat Solar Panel Deployment Video

First-MOVE is a CubeSat being built by students at the Technical University of München.

MOVE stands for München Orbital Verification Experiment. The 1U CubeSat has two deployable solar panels carrying a new generation of solar cell. First-MOVE also carries a CCD camera.

Despite the narrow bandwidth data channel high quality pictures can be taken and transfered to Earth using a specially developed algorithm which filters the pictures due to content (Space, Earth horizon), compresses them, fragments them to small data packages and generates thumbnails for preview.

First-MOVE completed integration in April 2012.

Watch First-MOVE Flap Panel Deployment Test

Watch First-MOVE Complete Integration

Mar 31 2012

Lego™ 1U Cubesat,launch confirmed April 2012

Lego ™ first 1U Cubesat

In a little under a weeks time Lego-1 is due to make history by being the first 1U cubesat to be made from 40% lego,a team from ogel universtiy hope to be the first
team to have a cubesat in orbit, made by the 1940’s building blocks.

Mr Smith, the team leader says “The glue used to construct Lego-1 has been tested
by  NASA” after a little more questioning we was told the compound is ‘top secret’
but we managed to see a tube of it on the way into the clean room. ‘Polymerization of methyl-2-cyanoacrylate’ holds this cubesat together,incasing all the electronics, including a mode V beacon, and an impressive Linear Transponder (Inverting).

Uplink 435.2000-435.2600
Downlink 145.9200-TBD

Lego-1 is due to launch on the English built ‘yadslooflirpa’ Rocket in April this year,all final checks are now complete and  finger crossed, be the first lego built Cubesat in orbit’ A full in-depth article is due to be officially released on the 3rd of April 2012.

Steve from Ogel university comments “We are all looking forward to the launch,I worked on the solar-sail as part of my Masters degree,after this project I hope to release my new concept,a ‘1R’  a round cubesat, it’s a little bigger than a tennis ball”

GoodLuck with your round cubesat Steve!

Telemetry software will become available within the next few days,Lego-1 also hopes to become the first cubesat to allow amateur radio operators to tweet messages direct to the Cubesat, for them to be rebroadcasted via a 5w beacon. ( @lego-1 )

For more information please contact Rob, m0tfo@amsat.org

Download a photo of the team behind the Lego Cubesat

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Don’t forget you can give a kind donation towards the FUNcube Launch Fund http://tinyurl.com/czfcro4
Mar 31 2012

MicroThrust Motor for Nanosats

Imagine reaching the Moon using just a tenth of a liter of fuel. With their ionic motor, MicroThrust, EPFL scientists and their European partners are making this a reality, ushering in a new era of low-cost space exploration.

Watch EPFL – A Couple Drops of Fuel to Get to the Moon with MicroThrust

The goal is to provide efficient propulsion systems for nanosatellites (1-100 kg), which are currently stuck in whatever orbit they were initially placed: the plan is to free them to allow nanosatellites to perform orbital maneuvering, and missions to the Moon, to Near Earth Objects, or even to Mars.

Read Micromachined Propulsion systems for very small satellites http://lmts.epfl.ch/microthrust

Mar 29 2012

Around the World 28 MHz Balloon Launched

A long duration balloon mission that is using 6 Party Balloons to carry a 50 gram amateur radio 28.223 MHz CW beacon is hoping to go around the world.

The ballon was released at 2330 UT (1930 EDT) March 29, from Annapolis in Maryland and started its journey heading SE at 6 knots. By 0300 UT, March 30, it had reached a speed of 60 MPH (96 km/h).

It has no APRS, just the 28.223 MHz 100 milliwatt CW telemetry system and it is hoped to locate it by signal strength and beam headings only.

The mission is to give an insight into constant-pressure balloons and especially the use of common mylar party balloons as a fixed volume envelope. Unfortunately, these balloons have a high mass and so the theoretical maximum altitude no matter how many balloons are used is only about 26,000 feet and that is with no payload other than the fixed balloon mass.

The payload weighs about 50 grams. The team are targeting 6 party balloons 3′ in diameter which should give a float altitude around 16,000 feet.

The Telemetry will be in CW on 28.223 MHz (USB DIAL) and will contain Battery voltage, inside and outside temperatures, and surface luminosity of the ocean/clouds. It has no GPS. The team will rely entirely on DF bearings and signal reports.

EMAIL DF reports to W3ADO@homeside.to Be sure to include:
Your LAT/LONG
Time of observation
Quality of heading (subjective 1 to 10)
The CW string copied

If you have APRS you can uplink your beam heading via APRS.

Since the balloon is only flying at 16,000 feet or so it will be vulnerable to weather. The battery is expected to have a lifetime of about 10 days.

Further information including details of CW telemetry at http://aprs.org/balloons.html