A Small Satellite Developer Workshop featuring Amateur Radio is taking place July 8-13 in Chennai, India.
The amateur radio segment is being conducted by the National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR).
Other topics include
• Software Designed Receiver
• Basics of Spacecraft Technology
• Team Design Project
Further details at http://www.spaceschool.co.in/
Dhruva Space on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DhruvaSpace
The Satellite Applications Catapult is hosting a Satellite Applications Hackathon event on the weekend of June 8-9, 2013. It will take place at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus.
The two-day ‘technology development’ event is part of a series of activities to help generate innovative ideas and solutions in response to several challenges set by the Catapult or its associated partners. Hackathons offer an innovation platform to enable people to work together to solve challenges using space technologies, and exploit the benefits for both space and other markets sectors, eg. transport, healthcare, natural resources, etc.
The Hackathon is open to anyone who would like to participate – software developers, engineers, technologists, scientists, designers, artists, educators, students and entrepreneurs – anyone who has a passion to help change the world.
• Free registration
• Free shuttle-bus service between venue and Didcot Parkway train station
• Free food, snacks and drinks throughout
• Sleep over at the high-tech, world-leading facility!… So bring a sleeping bag, pillow and anything else to make yourself comfortable
• Prizes include potential funding and mentoring to help take your idea to market
To register for the Hackathon, please go to catapulthackathon.eventbrite.co.uk or email hackathons@sa.catapult.org.uk
Satellite Applications Catapult Hackathon http://sa.catapult.org.uk/event/catapult-hackathon/
CubeSat NEE-01 Pegasus
BBC News is reporting that at 0538 UT on Thursday, May 23 Ecuador’s new NEE-01 Pegasus 910 MHz CubeSat collided with debris from a S14 Soviet rocket launched in 1985.
The satellite was some 1,500 km east of Madagascar at the time. Pegasus, launched less than a month ago, is the first 1U CubeSat to carry a HD TV transmitter and deployable solar panels. The basic satellite is just 10 by 10 by 10 cm but, when deployed, the solar panels have a span of 70 cm.
Ronnie Nader with Elisse Nader and CubeSat
Ecuador’s first Astronaut Ronnie Nader is quoted as saying “Pegasus could be damaged or spinning out of control, but because it’s still in orbit, we have hope“.
He had said earlier that it could take up to 48 hours to ascertain possible damage using radar.
Read the original BBC News story Ecuador Pegasus satellite fears over space debris crash at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22635671
May 23, 0700 UT: Ronnie Nader posted “Survived the event, but we are almost sure of side impact with particles, tomorrow [May 23 ECT?] we will see the state of Pegasus, but we are still in the sky, still have Pegasus”.
May 23, 1600 UT: Ronnie Nader tweeted “Now we are sure that there [was] particle impact“.
BBC News Monday, May 27: Ecuador tries to fix satellite after space debris crash at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22678919
Educational outreach is an important part of the project. The Ecuadorian Space Agency EXA is partnering with schools in Ecuador as part of the ASTERIA Program, in which students will use the satellite in their curricular and extra curricular activities.
The BBC report that the Ecuadorian Government contributed $700,000 towards the launch costs of the 1U CubeSat. It was launched on April 26, 2013 into a 660 km orbit on a CZ-2D rocket from the Jiuquan Space Center along with CubeBug-1 and TURKSAT-3USAT. It was reported by EXA that the Argentine CubeBug-1 had a particle impact, however, Colin Hurst VK5HI has tweeted @AMSATUK @CubeBug1 CubeBug-1 still beaconing at 1257utc 24th May 2013 @VK5HI
902 – 928 MHz is an amateur radio allocation in some countries.
EXA has indicated that the successor to Pegasus, NEE-02 Krysaor, is expected to launch on a Dnepr rocket from Dombarovsky near Yasny. This is expected to take place in November 2013 https://amsat-uk.org/2013/02/14/two-tv-cubesats-from-ecuador/
EXA report on the incident in Spanish http://www.exa.ec/bp52/
Google English version of the report http://tinyurl.com/q8wdql2
NEE-01 Pegasus 910 MHz TV Camera in Action
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/05/20/nee-01-pegasus-910-mhz-tv-camera-in-action/
NEE-01 Pegaus HD TV CubeSat
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/04/25/nee-01-pegasus-hd-tv-cubesat/
January 2014 Ecuadorian Civil Space Company (EXA)—Imagery Involvement + An Important Recovery (Satellites) http://www.satnews.com/story.php?number=1323163133
Raydel Espinet CM2ESP
Grupo de Radioaficionados para Operaciones Satelitales (GROS) Coordinator Raydel Espinet CM2ESP comments on the use of amateur radio satellites for emergency communications and describes how an amateur satellite was used in a Civil Defense exercise on May 18-19, 2013.
About the topic of satellites and emergencies I think satellites are an option very important to consider when there is no more available. In case of HF propagation blackouts or poor conditions and when local VHF and UHF repeaters fails, satellites can bring help, specially from light weight battery run portable stations.
Here in Cuba we do every year an emergency rehearsal exercise named “Meteoro” which is organized by Cuba’s Civil Defense to simulate catastrophes and other actions relevant to the upcoming hurricane season.
This weekend (May 18th and 19th) was held the 2013 Exercise, like always Cuban Ham Radio Operators are invited to participate as an important asset during emergencies. But by first time ever on the Civil Defense National Headquarters were is installed amateur station CO9DCN we do a short and simple satellite demonstration to the Civil Defense authorities.
The short demo was just a simple “hello” exchanged between CO6CBF (Hector) in Cienfuegos Province and CM2ESP/Portable (Raydel) in the Headquarter’s backyard. Hector had done previous years demos for his province’s civil defense authorities, but this was the first time a demo was done at the National Civil Defense Headquarters. As HF propagation was terribly bad that day due to the recent solar flares the Civil Defense Authorities were very pleased with our short demo proving that satellites can be an alternative when ground and ionospheric propagation are disrupted.
The Press publish a short report about the amateur radio importance on emergencies and there is also a short mention in paragraph three of the very first satellite contact.
The news report can be found here
http://www.ain.cu/2013/mayo/19ya-meteoro_reduccion_desastres.htm
It is in Spanish only, but Google translator works fine http://translate.google.com.cu/translate?hl=es&sl=es&tl=en&u=www.ain.cu%2F2013%2Fmayo%2F19ya-meteoro_reduccion_desastres.htm
On the picture featured on the news report from the Cuban News Agency you can see CO9DCN Club Station (Defensa Civil Nacional – National Civil Defense) being operated by CO2OT in digital modes and CO2JC in voice communications. The satellite demo was done portable on the backyard on Sunday at 14:10 UTC during a SO-50 pass, the press arrived one hour after the satellite pass so unfortunately there is no photo available.
73,
Raydel, CM2ESP
GROS Coordinator
AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB) http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/maillist/
The first picture taken by the amateur radio CubeSat ESTCube-1 in space has been released. ESTCube-1 was launched from Kourou in the Caribbean on May 7 at 0206 UT on an ESA Vega rocket into a 704 km orbit.
ESTCube-1 camera on left of board
The hard work of the first two weeks has paid off and the CAM team, leaded by the University of Tartu Computer Technology graduate student Henri Kuuste has this to say: The camera works perfectly and so do all the other subsystems, needed for taking the photo. The first image was captured on May 15 over the Mediterranean Sea, showing the sea, Sahara desert, and Tunisia.
On Monday, May 13 the whole ESTCube-1 team was invited to the reception of the rector of University of Tartu to celebrate the success of the satellite. Watch the video (in English) at http://www.uttv.ee/naita?id=17163
ESTCube-1 at press conference in Tallinn before shipping January 21, 2013 – Image credit University of Tartu
ESTCube-1 was built by students at the University of Tartu. The main mission of the satellite is to test electric solar wind sail technology, a novel space propulsion technology that could revolutionize transportation within the solar system. It will deploy a 10 meter conductive electrodynamic tether and the force interacting with the tether will be measured.
The technology is based on the electrostatic interaction between the electric field generated by the satellite and the high-speed particles being ejected from the Sun. A spacecraft utilizing this method would first deploy a set of electrically charged wires, which allow to generate an electric field over a large area. This area effectively forms a “sail” that can be pushed by the charged particles being diverted by it and therefore transferring momentum to the craft.
ESTCube-1 uses these frequencies:
437.252 MHz – CW beacon, callsign ES5E/S
437.505 MHz – 9600 bps AX.25 telemetry, callsign ES5E-11
Watch ESTCube-1 mission
Electric solar wind sail http://www.electric-sailing.fi/
EstCube on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/estcube/
EstCube website http://www.estcube.eu/en/home
Wiki EstCube-1 http://tinyurl.com/WikiESTCube-1
Keplerian Two Line Elements (TLEs) ‘Keps’ for CubeSats are at
http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/cubesat.txt
Free satellite tracking software:
• SimpleSat Look Down http://www.tomdoyle.org/SimpleSatLookDown/
• Gpredict http://gpredict.oz9aec.net/
• Orbitron http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=9051
BBC News reports that fifteen-year-old Abby Harrison is training to be an astronaut and has set herself the goal of being the first person to reach Mars.
“I remember looking up at the night sky when I was five-years-old and thinking that I wanted to go to space” she told the BBC.
Abby is currently in Moscow visiting her mentor, the astronaut Luca Parmitano KF5KDP, who is about to travel to the International Space Station.
Watch the BBC News interview at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22597923
The Star Tribune newspaper says: This week, she’s traveling to Kazakhstan to watch the launch of the Soyuz TMA-09M, a Russian craft headed for the International Space Station on May 28. She’s used her social media prowess to spearhead a successful Kickstarter-like crowdfunding campaign, raising more than $30,000 to help pay for the rare trip.
Star Tribune ‘Astronaut Abby’ is crowdfunding her way to outer space
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/208184441.html
Tech Tuesday: Meet 15-Year Old “Astronaut Abby”
http://www.womenyoushouldknow.net/tech-tuesday-meet-15-year-old-astronaut-abby/
High School Student’s RocketHub Project
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/05/11/high-school-students-rockethub-project/
Further information at
AMSAT-UK 
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