Dec 19 2013

Book publisher wants to launch CubeSat

Image used by Mikazuki Publishing House on their YouTube video

A publisher of printed paper books, Mikazuki Publishing House, has issued a press release saying they will be launching a 3U CubeSat in August 2014 that would have both voice and data uplinks and downlinks. They intend to use the CubeSat for a single book marketing campaign.

The company’s press release reads:

(Mikazuki Publishing News) Dec 18th, 2013 – Mikazuki Publishing House, an international book publisher, has announced that it will be launching a nano-satellite in August 2014 using the CubeSat 3U format.

NASA’s CubeSat Launch initiative (CSLI) provides opportunities for small satellite payloads to fly on rockets planned for upcoming launches. These CubeSats are flown as auxiliary payloads on previously planned missions. Nano-satellites weighing less than one pound, have become the standard as a miniature communications platform. The cost is approximately $30,000, covering launch, operation, and maintenance. The satellite will enter low earth orbit and is set to be used for a single book marketing campaign, after which the satellite will drift back to Earth after 3 months.

Kambiz Mostofizadeh the CEO of Mikazuki Publishing House said “Why would a book publisher want its own communications satellite?

It will be able to transmit data and voice up and down, so it is a perfect marketing tool for creating a temporary radio station or a temporary television station. The satellite will also come with a graphic user interface designed to allow our publishing staff without satellite operating experience to make the most of its capabilities.”

The Mikazuki X12 Satellite is set to launch in August 2014. For more information visit http://www.MikazukiPublishingHouse.com/

No additional information about the CubeSat has been seen on that website yet.

Mikazuki Publishing House on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bookspublishers

Mikazuki Publishing House YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHZWdNzIc-k

A list of selections for NASA’s CubeSat Launch initiative (CSLI) can be seen at
http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/home/CSLI_selections.html

It covers satellites planned to be launched during 2014 and 2015 but at the time of writing Mikazuki X12 had not been spotted.

At the beginning of December Amazon announced it was testing drones for deliveries. That announcement gave Amazon free publicity on TV stations around the world.

Dec 19 2013

Join AMSAT-UK

Founded in 1975 AMSAT-UK is a voluntary organisation that supports the design and building of equipment for Amateur Radio Satellites.

AMSAT-UK initially produced a short bulletin called OSCAR News to give members advice on amateur satellite communications. Since those early days OSCAR News has grown in size and the print quality has improved beyond recognition. Today, OSCAR News is produced as a high-quality quarterly colour A4 magazine consisting of up to 40 pages of news, information and comment about amateur radio space communications.

The new lower-cost E-membership provides OSCAR News as a downloadable PDF file giving members the freedom to read it on their Tablets or Smartphones anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

An additional advantage is that the PDF should be available for download up to 2 weeks before the paper copy is posted.

AMSAT-UK FUNcube Mission Patch

The Membership year lasts for 12 months starting on January 1 each year.

If you join after July 31 of any particular year, then you will receive complimentary membership for the whole of the following year, i.e. join on November 12, 2013, and you have nothing more to pay until Dec 31, 2014.

Now is a very good time to join.

Take out an Electronic membership here http://shop.amsat.org.uk/shop/category_9/Join-Amsat-UK.html

E-members can download their copies of OSCAR News from http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/on

A sample issue of OSCAR News can be downloaded here.

Dec 19 2013

Delfi-n3Xt Update December 19

Delfi-n3Xt Satellite

Delfi Nanosatellite Program Manager, Jasper Bouwmeester PC4JB, provides this update on the Delfi-n3Xt amateur radio satellite which was launched November 21 and carries a 435/145 MHz linear transponder.

Dear radio amateurs,

Today, December 19, we have switched from the ISIS transmitter (ITRX) to the Primary Transmitter (PTRX). This radio seems to have a significantly stronger signal, so it should be easier to receive telemetry. The frequency is a bit higher, 145.930 MHz so you will have to retune. I hope this will help some of the radio amateurs who had trouble in decoding Delfi-n3Xt.

We have also put the S-band transmitter (STX) back in beacon mode on 2405.000 MHz. As the onboard patch antenna is however pointing in arbitrary direction, it is a matter of luck if it is pointed towards a ground station. In about 10% of the passes it should in theory be possible to receive the signal with a >2.5m dish, but I have to admit that it is only going to be fun to try to receive the signal for those people who like to be the first and have the proper equipment.

Unfortunately we have not yet been able to make a new update of the DUDe client. The first issue we want to tackle for the new version is the frequency freeze. After a while, DUDe seems to lock itself at an edge of the band. Currently this means, that DUDe needs to be restarted before a pass. As temporary solution in case you want to track the satellite automatically, you may use an auto-mouse clicker to close and re-open DUDe. But I hope we will be able to fix this issue early next year.

Finally, I would like to state that you may replay your SDR recordings a few times to increase packet decoding as our server can handle more load. Our statistics page however currently does not exclude doubles from a single radio amateur, so please keep in mind that the packet counts for the competition (more details early next year) will eventually be corrected for this. It will take a while though before we upgrade the statistics to exclude doubles from a single radio amateur. We are very happy if we receive more telemetry packets, but please don’t exaggerate the amount of replays as there is not much more to be gained after a few attempts.

Have a nice holidays and a prosperous 2014!

73,
Jasper, PC4JB

Telemetry reception http://www.delfispace.nl/operations/delfi-n3xt-telemetry-reception

Delfi-n3Xt http://www.delfispace.nl/operations/radio-amateurs

Dnepr Yasny launch https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/dnepr-november-2013/

Dec 19 2013

Announcing: The UK CubeSat Forum

As a result of recommendations from the January 2013 UK CubeSat Workshop, members of the UK CubeSat community have established a forum to provide an independent, community led discussion and networking platform for UK nanosatellite or CubeSat stakeholders.

The organising committee, which the UK Space Agency also sits on, invites all individuals with an interest in nanosatellite or CubeSat activities to read the forum’s Charter and, if interested in becoming an active member, register at http://www.cubesatforum.org.uk/ to participate in the forum.

As well as building stronger links throughout the CubeSat community, the independent forum aims to be the primary interface for the UK Space Agency to seek the community’s views on matters such as Outer Space Act (OSA) reform, and what its future CubeSat initiatives should look like.

UKube-1 on display at UK Space Conference in Glasgow

UKube-1 model on display at UK Space Conference in Glasgow – Credit G3VZV

Best regards
Ryan King
Space Science Assistant Programme Manager

UK SPACE AGENCY
Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1SZ
Tel 01793 41 8090
Mob 07826921986
Web http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency
Twitter http://twitter.com/spacegovuk
Youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/spacegovuk
An executive agency for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Artists impression of UKube-1 in orbit – Credit Clyde Space

Aspirations following UKube-1

The UK CubeSat Forum are seeking thoughts on the future format of the UK Space Agency CubeSat programme (aka UKube). Specifically, we are interested in thoughts regarding the mission applications, budget, timelines, and competitiveness in the market.

For example, should CubeSats stay within the education and training sphere or should the UK compete with NASA-style missions: e.g. EDSN (a network of CubeSats)?

Can we progress science further for example into MEO or GEO to investigate radiation belts or focus on industrial problems – e.g. cheaper platforms towards real navigation and Earth observation applications like PlanetLabs‘ Flock?

Should the UK implement a similar programme to the NASA CubeSat Initiative where government funds the launch of prebuilt CubeSats? Or should we focus on funding full missions?

Dec 19 2013

11th birthday of ham radio satellite SO-50

Saudisat SO-50

December 20, 2013 will be the 11th birthday of the amateur radio satellite SO-50.

Now known as SO-50, Saudisat 1C is a Saudi Arabian satellite about 25 cm cubed that was launched by a Dnepr rocket from Baikonur in Kazakhstan at 17:00 UT on December 20, 2002. SO-50 features a “Mode J” FM amateur repeater operating on a 145.850 MHz uplink and a 436.795 MHz (+/- 9 kHz Doppler shift) downlink.

“Most hams already own the necessary equipment to work SO-50,” reports Clint Bradford, K6LCS, who maintains a Web site work-sat.com devoted to working amateur satellites with minimal equipment.

“It is preferable to work SO-50 in true, full-duplex mode – so you can hear the downlink as you transmit. This means – for most – using a second radio or the Kenwood TH-D72A and its true full-duplex capability. The new Puxing PX-UV973 is currently being tested in this mode, too, to see how it works on the satellites.”

SO-50’s repeater is available to amateurs worldwide, and it uses a 67.0 Hz CTCSS (PL) tone on the uplink. SO-50 also has a 10 minute timer that must be armed before use. If you know the satellite is there – but there is nothing heard – you may need to shoot it a CTCSS (PL) tone of 74.4 Hz to turn it ON!

The repeater consists of a miniature VHF receiver with sensitivity of -124 dBm, with an IF bandwidth of 15 kHz. The receive antenna is a 1/4 wave vertical mounted in the top corner of the spacecraft. Its UHF transmitter is a mere 250 mW, and downlink antenna is a 1/4 wave mounted in the bottom corner of the spacecraft and canted at 45 degrees inward.

“Hams just with Technician licenses [or UK Foundation] can work the satellite,” Clint continues. “We are talking about weak signals from 500 miles away – so improving both your TX and RX antennas is critical for success on this satellite.” Plans for making tape measure beams and other inexpensive, high-gain antennas is also on his Web site.

“Do not forget to accommodate for the Doppler shift (+/-9 kHz) on the 436 MHz receive side.”

Complete details – including frequency chart and sources for knowing when the satellite will be over your area, are also on Clint’s Web site.

Work-Sat http://www.work-sat.com/

Watch a video of Simon 2E0HTS working via SO-50 at
https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/how-to-work-a-fm-satellite/

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

Dec 18 2013

Radio Hams to Repair Faulty ISS Pump

The ARRL report Expedition 38 Astronauts Mike Hopkins, KF5LJG, and Rick Mastracchio, KC5ZTE, will leave the confines of the International Space Station (ISS) December 21, 23, and 25 to repair a faulty cooling system pump.

The malfunction has already caused the postponement of one Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school contact. It’s unclear if the ISS problem will affect additional ARISS school contacts.

Planet Labs CubeSat Constellation

Also postponed is the shipment of four amateur radio 1U CubeSats LituanicaSAT-1, LitSat-1, ArduSat-2, UAPSat-1, the 915 MHz CubeSat SkyCube and 28 CubeSats (3U) from the company Planet Labs. The CubeSats were to have been sent to the ISS on an Orbital Sciences Antares-120 rocket on December 18 but this launch will not now take place until January.

Read the ARRL story at
http://www.arrl.org/news/two-ham-astronauts-to-repair-faulty-pump-during-multiple-spacewalks

LituanicaSAT-1 with amateur radio FM transponder to deploy from ISS
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/04/12/lituanicasat-1/

LitSat-1 amateur radio frequencies announced
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/09/11/litsat-1-amateur-radio-frequencies-announced/

ArduSat Open Source Ham Radio CubeSats
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/08/09/ardusat-open-source-ham-radio-cubesats/

UAPSat-1 http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=210

SkyCube to use 915 MHz CubeSat Ground Station Network
https://amsat-uk.org/2012/08/25/skycube-to-use-915-mhz-cubesat-ground-station-network/

In the United States and a number of other countries 915 MHz is an Amateur Radio allocation. In the UK the regulator Ofcom plan to make 915-921 MHz license exempt http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/short-range-devices/

Planet Labs http://www.planet-labs.com/#missions
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PlanetLabsInc

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