Mar 20 2013

Ham Radio Satellites in The Independent

OSSI-1 weighs 963 grams

OSSI-1 weighs 963 grams

The Newfoundland and Labrador Independent reports on two amateur radio satellite projects.

The article covers FITSat-1 (Niwaka) developed under the leadership of Takushi Tanaka JA6AVG and the Open Source Satellite Initiative CubeSat OSSI-1 developed by Korean artist Hojun Song DS1SBO.

Read The Independent article at http://theindependent.ca/2013/03/20/narratives-in-orbit/

Further FITSat-1 information at https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/techedsat-f-1-fitsat-1-we-wish/

OSSI-1 plans to launch April 19, 2013, further  information at https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/ossi-1/

Mar 20 2013

KiwiSAT – All systems are now flight ready

AMSAT-ZL KiwiSATThe KiwiSAT website reports that all hardware is complete and the KiwiSAT micro-satellite is operational. Final integration to launch ready awaits completion of command and control testing.

They say software is being developed and launch negotiation is underway in New Zealand. Earlier reports indicated that $1 million was required for a launch to a 700 km orbit.

Read the status report dated March 13, 2013 at http://www.kiwisat.org.nz/status.html

Mar 19 2013

You can ring my bell! Adventures in sub-GHz RF land…

AMSAT-UK_FUNcubeDongle 640In this article Adam Laurie from London describes how he used his AMSAT-UK FUNcube Dongle VHF/UHF Software Defined Radio (SDR) to decode the signal from a 433.920 MHz doorbell.

Read the article at http://adamsblog.aperturelabs.com/2013/03/you-can-ring-my-bell-adventures-in-sub.html

Join the FUNcube Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FUNcube

Further information on the FUNcubeDongle Software Defined Radio is at http://www.FUNcubeDongle.com/

Mar 18 2013

Radio Amateur G3YJO in ADS Advance Magazine

ADS Advance magazine pages 32-33 March-May 2013

ADS Advance magazine pages 32-33 March-May 2013

Professor Sir Martin Sweeting G3YJO is interviewed on pages 32-34 of the March-May 2013 issue of the free UK magazine for the Aviation, Defence, Security and Space industries ADS Advance.

You can read the March-May 2013 issue online or download it as a PDF file at http://www.adsadvance.co.uk/issue1/volume3/

ADS Advance archive http://www.adsadvance.co.uk/archives.php

Mar 18 2013

BBC – ESA seeks help to control robot spacecraft

Parrot AR Drone 2.0

Parrot AR Drone 2.0

BBC News report that the European Space Agency (ESA) is turning to owners of terrestrial robot aircraft to aid those that journey into space.

The agency has released an App that makes use of the cameras on the Parrot drone to simulate docking with a virtual space station.

The Parrot drone quadcopter has proved popular with many iPhone owners as it can be controlled via the 2.4 GHz WiFi signal from the handset.

Data generated by the agency’s App will be analyzed to help fine tune navigation software for its own drones.

Read the BBC story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21828807

ESA Smartphone App Turns Drone into Spacecraft
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Technology/Smartphone_app_turns_home_drone_into_spacecraft

Middlesex Foundation Radio Hams success in UAV (Drone) competition
https://amsat-uk.org/2012/07/12/middlesex-radio-hams-success-in-uav-competition/

Mar 17 2013

Nanosatellite Separation Experiment Using a P-POD Deployment Mechanism

AMSAT-UK_Bevelled_LogoThese video shows CubeSat deployment experiments carried out in a weightless environment on the “Vomit Comet” aircraft by students from the University of Texas.

The team write:

Nanosatellites are becoming increasingly common in the aerospace industry due to their reduced size, small mass, and economical cost. These small satellites will often operate in groups rather than as single satellites, and once they are clear of the carrier, separate from one another.One topic of immense interest is the characterization of the separation dynamics of such satellites.

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