Tag Archives: Amateur Radio

May 12 2013

Frequencies announced for HamTV from the International Space Station

Basic amateur radio station which should receive HamVideo from the ISS - Image AMSAT-Italia

Basic amateur radio station which should receive HamVideo from the ISS – Image AMSAT-Italia

Frequencies have been announced for the new Ham Radio Digital TV transmitter that will send video from the ISS in the amateur radio 2400 MHz band.

The main mission of HamTV is to perform school contacts between the astronauts onboard ISS and the scholarship, not only by voice, but also by unidirectional video from the ISS to the ground within the ARISS program.

In addition to the existing VHF radio amateur station, ISS will host a S-Band video transmitting station. This new equipment can broadcast images from the ISS during the school contacts or other pre-recorded video images up to 24 hours a day to allow ground stations tuning.

It is planned to transmit DVB-S signals on 2.4GHz at either 1.3Msps or 2.3Msps with 10 watts of RF from the ISS Columbus module.

The IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel have announced frequencies of 2422.0 MHz and 2437.0 MHz.

HamVideo is the name of the onboard DATV S-band transmitter. HamTV is the name of the complete system, comprising DATV downlink and VHF voice uplink. Kaiser Italia SRL was the prime-contractor for the design and development of the flight and ground segment http://www.kayser.it/index.php/exploration-2/ham-tv

It is understood that the HamTV equipment will be carried to the ISS on the Japanese HTV-4 spacecraft currently planned for a launch on August 4.

HamTV overview paper http://www.ariss-eu.org/Ham%20TV.pdf

HamTV on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Hamtvproject

More information from AMSAT-Italia at http://www.amsat.it/Amsat-Italia_HamTV_brochure.pdf

Link Budget http://www.amsat.it/Amsat-Italia_HamTV.pdf

AMSAT-Italia in Google English http://tinyurl.com/AMSAT-Italia

ARISS Antennas Installed on Columbus http://www.ariss-eu.org/columbus.htm

May 12 2013

British Interplanetary Society President to speak at AMSAT-UK Space Colloquium

Holiday Inn Guildford GU2 7XZ

Holiday Inn Guildford GU2 7XZ

The 2013 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will start late afternoon on Friday, July 19 and will run through until the afternoon on Sunday, July 21 at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, UK.

It will be preceded by an exciting “Hands-on” CubeSat Workshop which will take place at the nearby University of Surrey on the Friday and this will be followed, at the hotel, by the usual Colloquium “Beginners Session” in the late afternoon.

A number of keynote presentations have already been arranged for the Colloquium. These include Alistair Scott, the President of the British Interplanetary Society. The BIS has, over many decades, developed ideas and concepts about the future of space travel and both Patrick Moore and Arthur C Clarke were members. Alistair has had many years experience working in the space industry and will be reviewing the future possibilities for ventures into space both small and large. The BIS is presently developing one of the Sprites for the Kicksat mission and Andrew Vaudin will be presenting a paper about this and also providing a demonstration.

STRaND-1 Engineering Model and Cleanroom SSC

STRaND-1 Engineering Model and Cleanroom SSC

It is anticipated that both the FUNcube-1 and FUNcube-2 missions will be launched later this year and the FUNcube team will be on hand to talk about the missions and the planned educational outreach. A full demonstration of the Engineering Model, which has been performing flawlessly for almost a year, will also be provided.

On the Sunday, the General Manager of the RSGB, Graham Coomber, G0NBI will be talking about the Society’s vision of the future of amateur radio and how amateur satellites can play a major part in helping to secure that future.

We will also have updates on a number of the other current amateur satellite projects including HAMtv from the ISS, spectrum matters, operating methods, new products etc.

FUNcube-1 flight model - Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

FUNcube-1 flight model – Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

There are still a few slots available for additional speakers, so if you would like to make a presentation, please contact Dave Johnson G4DPZ e-mail: dave at g4dpz dot me dot uk as soon as possible.

The AMSAT-UK organising committee looks forward to welcoming both regular attendees and newcomers – you can be assured of a warm welcome and an exciting weekend.

The event is open to all, full details of the accommodation, travel and booking arrangements are at
https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/colloquium-2013/

Details of the free “Hands On” CubeSat Workshop are at
https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/cubesat-workshop-2013/

May 11 2013

High School Student’s RocketHub Project

Abby Harrison - Astronaut AbbyFifteen-year-old Abigail Harrison has a big dream, to be the first astronaut to Mars.

She is currently using the crowd funding website RocketHub to raise money to fund a trip to Baikonur in Kazhakstan to watch her mentor, Astronaut Luca Parmitano KF5KDP, blast-off to the International Space Station at the end of May.

Almost two years ago, on the way home from the final launch of STS 134 Endeavour space shuttle, Abby met and interviewed Italian astronaut Luca Parmitanoo. Luca agreed to become her mentor, and for the last couple of years, he has stayed in touch and offered advice.

On Friday, April 26 Abby took part in a Google+ hangout with Luca KF5KDP, she writes:

The interview was facilitated by the Public Insight Network which is a part of American Public Media. I was so excited to have this opportunity with Luca before he launches on May 28, 2013  to live on the International Space Station (ISS) for six months. We had an awesome chat about both of our passions for space and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) as well as about Luca’s exciting work on the ISS this year.

We also discussed my exciting opportunity to serve as Luca’s Earth Liaison. In the chat, Luca talked about meeting me for the first time, saying, “I like passionate people. Any kind of passion. Any kind of interest in anything that keeps you inspired…I saw a lot of myself in Abby.” He emphasized his excitement and the importance of my job as Earth Liaison and that he was happy his experience could be used to inspire kids throughout the world.

Further information at

May 9 2013

Ofcom 2400 MHz Consultation

AMSAT-UK_Bevelled_LogoThe UK communications regulator Ofcom has published a call for inputs relating to spectrum use by licence exempt devices in the 2.4 GHz band. 2400-2450 MHz is an ITU Amateur and Amateur Satellite Service allocation.

The Ofcom announcement says:

This band is close to radio spectrum in the 2300 MHz band, which the Ministry of Defence (MoD) plans to release for new civil uses.

The MoD has therefore commissioned work to audit licence exempt uses in the 2400 MHz band, in particular to identify the full range of possible uses of this spectrum. The call for inputs introduces two audit reports that explore licence exempt use in the 2400 MHz band.

It also invites stakeholders to identify any other uses that may need to be considered to understand any technical coexistence.

The public consultation closes on June 19, 2013.

Consultation page and information on how to respond
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/2400-mhz/

Licence Exempt spectrum use in the 2400 MHz band
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/2400-mhz/summary/2400-mhz-cfi.pdf

RSGB – 2400 MHz Band – Call for Inputs
http://rsgbbeta.org/blog/news/gb2rs/headlines/2013/05/09/2400mhz-call/

May 8 2013

Amateur radio satellite OSCAR-11 still transmitting after 29 years in orbit

UOSAT-2 / OSCAR-11 with Dave Brock UoS kneeling, Christine Sweeting G6APF and Neville Bean G8NOB

UoSAT-2 / OSCAR-11 with Dave Brock UoS kneeling, Christine Sweeting G6APF and Neville Bean G8NOB

Mike Rupprecht DK3WN reports receiving a good signal from the amateur radio microsatellite UoSAT-OSCAR-11 on 145.826 MHz FM (AFSK 1200 bps ASCII), see his blog at http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=33395

UOSAT-2 / OSCAR-11 1984 Martin Sweeting G3YJO and Dave Bocks UoS standing

UoSAT-2 / OSCAR-11 Martin Sweeting G3YJO and Dave Bocks UoS standing

UoSAT-2, also known as UoSAT-OSCAR-11 or UO-11, was the second satellite designed and built by a team of engineers at the University of Surrey in Guildford, Surrey, UK and was the successor to UoSAT-1 / UoSAT-OSCAR-9 (see Hobby Electronics August 1981). It was launched from the Western Test Range at Vandenberg Air Base, in Lompoc, California along with LANDSAT-5 on a Delta 3920 rocket on March 1, 1984.

OSCAR-11 was the most rapidly designed OSCAR, going from inception to launch in only five months. It was also the first amateur satellite to carry a digital communications package into Earth orbit, and the first to be controlled by a CPU running software written in the high-level programming language “Forth”.

UOSAT-2_OSCAR- 11OSCAR-11 carries beacons in three amateur radio bands.

The 145.826 MHz beacon transmits FM Audio Frequency Shift Keying (AFSK) 1200 bps ASCII data. It the early years it also transmitted a voice message from the digitalker experiment.

The 435.025 MHz beacon transmitted either 1200 bps FM AFSK or 4800 bps PSK data. This beacon was used to downlink information from the Digital Store and Readout (DSR) Experiment, which includes CCD Earth image data, results from the Particle Wave Experiment, and engineering data from the RCA COSMAC 1802 CPU.

The 2401.5 MHz beacon transmitted FM and PSK signals. Antenna polarization for all three beacon transmitters is left-hand circular (LHCP). Only the 145.826 MHz beacon is now operational.

Addition OSCAR-11 information http://www.g3cwv.co.uk/oscar11.htm

OSCAR-9 and OSCAR-11 TV News Reports
https://amsat-uk.org/2011/10/30/oscar-9-and-oscar-11-tv-news-reports/

BBC Micro ASTRID UoSAT receiver and AMSAT-UK Software Library
https://amsat-uk.org/2011/12/11/bbc-micro-and-amsat-uk-software-library/

UOSAT_OSCAR-11

May 6 2013

ESTCube-1 – Estonia’s First CubeSat

Vega VV02 lift-off from Kourou on May 7, 2013 at 02:06 UT

Vega VV02 lift-off from Kourou on May 7, 2013 at 02:06 UT

Estonia’s first CubeSat ESTCube-1, amateur radio callsign ES5E, was launched from Kourou in the Caribbean on May 7 at 0206 UT on an ESA Vega rocket into a 704 km orbit. Also on the same launch were Vietnam’s VNREDSat-1A and ESA’s Proba‑V satellites.

ESTCube-1 - Image credit University of Tartu

ESTCube-1 – Image credit University of Tartu

This Vega mission required five upper-stage boosts and lasted about twice as long as its first launch, in February 2012.

The three solid-propellant stages performed flawlessly and, after two burns of the liquid-propellant upper stage, Proba‑V was released into a circular orbit at an altitude of 820 km, over the western coast of Australia, some 55 minutes into flight.

After releasing Proba-V, the upper stage performed a third burn and the top half of the egg-shaped Vega Secondary Payload Adapter was ejected. After a fourth burn to circularize the orbit at an altitude of 704 km, VNREDSat-1A was released 1 hour 57 minutes into flight. ESTCube‑1 was ejected from its dispenser three minutes later.

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.

ESTCube-1 at press conference in Tallinn before shipping January 21, 2013 - Image credit University of Tartu

ESTCube-1 at press conference in Tallinn before shipping January 21, 2013 – Image credit University of Tartu

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 by being diverted by it and therefore transferring momentum to the craft.

The team also aim to capture images of Estonia for outreach purposes.

The IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel have published these frequencies for ESTCube-1
437.250 MHz – CW beacon, callsign ES5E/S
437.505 MHz – 9600 bps AX.25 telemetry, callsign ES5E-11

The CW beacon has been received slightly high of the published frequency on 437.2515 MHz (+/- Doppler shift). Among those reporting the signal have been Nader Omer ST2NH in Sudan, Mike Rupprecht DK3WN in Germany, and Hector Martinez CO6CBF in Cuba who was using an AMSAT-UK FUNcube Dongle SDR.

Watch Estonian’s ESTCube-1

Watch Exploded view of ESTCube-1

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

ESA report on launch and deployment
http://www.esa.int/For_Media/Press_Releases/ESA_s_Vega_launcher_scores_new_success_with_Proba-V

Keplerian Two Line Elements (TLEs) ‘Keps’ for new satellites launched in past 30 days
http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/tle-new.txt

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

ESTCube Ground Station Antennas

ESTCube Ground Station Antennas