Tag Archives: Amateur Radio

Apr 17 2013

Soyuz Ham Radio CubeSat Launch

CubeSat deployment pods on top of the Bion-M1 spacecraft

CubeSat deployment pods on top of the Bion-M1 spacecraft
BeeSat-2, BeeSat-3 and SOMP are in the three 1U Launchers in the front
OSSI-1 is a 1U and alone in a 3U-Pod behind left
DOVE-2 is a 3U Cubesat and fills the 3U-Pod behind right

Soyuz-2-1a is planned to launch Friday, April 19, 2013 at 1000 UT from Baikonur in Kazakhstan. Among the satellites it will carry are four CubeSats with amateur radio payloads, OSSI-1, BEESAT-2, BEESAT-3 and SOMP.

Unusually the CubeSats will not be deployed straight after launch. Deployment of OSSI-1 is expected to take place after the 4th orbit and BEESAT-3, SOMP then BEESAT-2 are expected to be deployed at 16 second intervals after the 32nd orbit on Sunday, April 21 at around 1045 UT. Until then orbital maneuvers will be carried out to achieve a circular orbit at 575 km altitude.

It is expected that the four CubeSats may be deployed at intervals of about 16 seconds.

The satellites on the launch are:

Bion-M1
Bion-M is the next generation of Russian biological research satellites. While retaining the Vostok/Zenit-derived reentry module of the earlier Bion, the propulsion module has been replace by a Yantar type module, which provides maneuvering capabilities and longer mission support. The mission duration has been increased to up to 6 months by using solar cells for energy generation. The weight of scientific equipment has been increased by 100 kilograms. Source Gunters Space Page
Bion-M1 is carrying live mice, geckos and gerbils, see the BBC story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/22218589

Watch Bion-M Mission

Russian Student Satellite AIST-2 on BION-M1 launch

Student Satellite AIST-2

AIST-2
AIST is a russian microsatellite developed by designed by a group of students, postgraduates and scientists of Samara Aerospace University in cooperation with TsSKB Progress.

The satellite will measure the geomagnetic field, test the new small space vehicle bus, test methods to decrease microaccelerations to a minimum level and measure micrometeoroids of natural and artificial origin. Source Gunters Space Page
Believed to have a 435 MHz downlink and an 145 MHz command uplink.

OSSI-1 weighs 963 grams

OSSI-1 weighs 963 grams

OSSI-1
Korean artist Hojun Song DS1SBO has spent 7 years developing his Open Source Satellite Initiative satellite OSSI-1. He has designed and built it from scratch using readily available components rather than expensive space qualified hardware.

It has a 12 WPM CW Morse code beacon on 145.980 MHz, a data communications transceiver on 437.525 MHz and carries a 44 watt LED optical beacon to flash Morse code messages to observers on Earth.
https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/ossi-1/

BEESAT-1 Engineering Qualification Model

BEESAT-1 Engineering Qualification Model

BEESAT 2
The Berlin Experimental and Educational Satellite 2 is a 1U CubeSat project intended to test a reaction wheel and an Attitude Determination and Control (ADC) system. It will also carry an experimental camera.
http://tinyurl.com/TUB-BEESAT

BEESAT 3
A 1U CubeSat project intended to test a transmitter using commercial S Band frequencies outside the amateur satellite service but will have a downlink on 435.950. It will have passive attitude control.
http://tinyurl.com/TUB-BEESAT

SOMP-1SOMP
The Student Oxygen Measurement Project (SOMP) is a 1U cubesat developed by students of the Technische Universität Dresden, Germany, organized in the Students’ Research Group for Spacecraft Engineering in Dresden (STARD). The CubeSat will be able to determine and to a limited extent, also control the attitude
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/03/22/somp-students-oxygen-measurement-project-carries-amateur-radio-payload/

Dove-2
The Dove-2 mission is a technology demonstration nanosatellite for Cosmogia Inc. for remote sensing purposes based on the triple (3U) CubeSat form factor. It is also an internal company technology demonstration experiment to test the capabilities of a low-cost spacecraft constrained to the 3U cubesat form factor to host a small payload. Dove 2 is licensed to collect images of the Earth and will undertake a short-duration experimental mission in a 290 km by 575 km orbit at an inclination of 64.9°.
Source Gunters Space Page

It is believed Dove-2 will have a downlink in the 450 MHz band. Search for Cosmogia at https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/els/reports/GenericSearch.cfm

Satellite        Downlink                Mode
———-       —————          ——————
OSSI-1        145.980/437.525   CW and 1200bps FSK AX.25
SOMP         437.485               1200, 9600bps BPSK
BEESAT-2   435.950               4800bps GMSK Mobitex
BEESAT-3   435.950               4800bps GMSK Mobitex
Bion-M1      Biological research satellite
AIST           Russian student microsatellite that aims to measure the Earth’s geomagnetic field (435 MHz downlink, 145 MHz command uplink)
Dove-2        Commercial technology demonstration mission (450 MHz band downlink)

Predicted Keps / TLE’s:

BEESAT-2
1 99999U          13110.41666667 -.00000032  00000-0 -27259-5 0 00006
2 99999 064.9888 015.3126 0011850 230.4664 032.8952 14.97640844000015

Space News Feed http://www.spacenewsfeed.co.uk/index.php/launches/14433-bion-m-1-aist-2-beesat-2-beesat-3-dove-2-ossi-1-somp

Apr 17 2013

Antares CubeSat Launch Scrubbed

The planned launch of the Antares rocket carrying three CubeSats with amateur radio payloads has been postponed.

Space Flight Now report the countdown for the launch of the first Antares rocket was halted with 12 minutes on the clock after a second stage umbilical prematurely separated.

The test flight is to prove the booster’s reliability before future flights to service the International Space Station. A new launch date has yet to be announced.

Space Flight Now http://spaceflightnow.com/

Apr 16 2013

Antares CubeSat Launch

Antares Rocket Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Antares Rocket Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The launch of Antares carrying three CubeSats with amateur radio payloads is expected to take place on Wednesday, April 17.

ANS reports that three PhoneSat cubesats will be aboard the Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares(TM) rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in eastern Virginia scheduled for April 17 at approximately 5:00 p.m. (EDT). The launch will be shown live on NASA TV at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv and also at http://www.nasa.gov/orbital

The three PhoneSats carry amateur radio payloads on 437.425 MHz, each transmits at intervals so all three should be receivable during a pass.

The callsign will be KJ6KRW all three satellites will transmit using AFSK (1200 bps) modulation, AX.25 packet coding. The two PhoneSat 1.0 satellites, Graham and Bell, transmit with a periodicity of respectively 28 seconds and 30 seconds. The PhoneSat 2.0 beta satellite, Alexandre, transmits with a periodicity of 25 seconds.

PhoneSat was chosen as one of the winners in the Aerospace category for the Popular Science magazine “Best of What’s New 2012″ awards. The PhoneSat is a technology demonstration mission consisting of three 1U CubeSats intended to prove that a smartphone can be used to perform many of the functions required of a spacecraft bus.

The satellite is built around the Nexus smartphone which will be running the Android operating system and will be enclosed in a standard 1U CubeSat structure. The main function of the phone is to act as the Onboard Computer, but the mission will also utilize the phone’s SD card for data storage, 5MP camera for Earth Observation, and 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis magnetometer for attitude determination.

One of the nanosatellites, powered by the HTC Nexus One smartphone, will send back pictures of Earth. The other two, running on the Samsung Nexus S, will have two-way S-band radio allowing them to be controlled from Earth.

With a short lifetime of only about one week, the satellites have no solar cells and operate on battery only.

An updated website with telemetry info is now available. Please note the launch date/time may change.
http://www.phonesat.org/packets.php

The Antares launch includes the commercial DOVE-1 satellite, a technology development experiment. The satellite had requested IARU coordination for a 1 watt transmitter on 145.825 MHz to downlink a 1200 baud AFSK AX.25 beacon with telemetry and health data. The AMSAT News Service reported in ANS-027 that according to the IARU DOVE-1 will no longer be using frequencies in the amateur radio bands.

It appears the USA FCC granted the experimental callsign WF9XKA for the use by Dove 1, it is believed it may use a downlink on 2420 MHz. Search for Cosmogia at https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/els/reports/GenericSearch.cfm
Dove-1  information https://apps.fcc.gov/els/GetAtt.html?id=121393
Dove 2 is slated to launch from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on April 19 on a Soyuz-2-1a,

PhoneSat http://www.phonesat.org/

TLEs / ‘Keps’ for recent launches http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/tle-new.txt

Check the AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB) for the latest information http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/maillist/

Thanks to AMSAT News Service (ANS), AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-UK and Samudra Haque N3RDX / S21X for the above information.

Apr 16 2013

Radio Amateurs get $25,000 for CubeSat project from JPL

Sharlene Katz WB6FFE and James Flynn WB9AWX - Image credit CSUN

Sharlene Katz WB6FFE and James Flynn WB9AWX – Image credit CSUN

Radio hams Professor Sharlene Katz, WB6FFE and Professor James Flynn, WB9AWX have received $25,000 from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a CubeSat project.

There is also an award of $30,000 for the project listed by The University Corporation.

The Daily Sundial newspaper carries a report on the California State University Northridge (CSUN) CubeSat project which says the 2U CubeSat aims to test alternative power techniques for satellites and spacecrafts and is estimated to cost between $60,000 and $80,000.

“And that’s all just parts. Our labor, of course, is for free,” joked Sharlene Katz [WB6FFE], Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Typically, it would cost another $45,000 just to launch the satellite. But thanks to their sponsorship from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, the satellite will be hitching a ride with a shuttle in a few years.

In order to communicate with the CubeSat, the team is also building an automated ground station on top of Jacaranda Hall. The system is going to be using old equipment from a previous experiment.

“There’s a lot of problems with the ground station right now, it’s old equipment,” said member Rufus Simon. “We’re fixing it! Step by step.”

The station will not only help the team track CSUN’s CubeSat, but other satellites as well. It will become part of the Global Educational Network for Satellite Operations (GENSO), which is a community of universities across the world who track and communicate with satellites.

Phase two of the project is set to start during the fall semester of 2013, and the team is hoping to complete the satellite by December of 2014.

Read the full Daily Sundial story at
http://sundial.csun.edu/2013/04/students-and-faculty-work-to-launch-shoebox-sized-satellite/

CSUN New Sponsored Programs http://www.csun.edu/sponsoredprograms/status/newprojects.php

CSUN Research & Sponsored Projects http://www.csun.edu/grip/research/

Global Educational Network for Satellite Operations (GENSO) http://www.esa.int/Education/Global_Educational_Network_for_Satellite_Operations

Apr 15 2013

Video – The CanSat Leader Training Program

CanSats are tiny satellites, built to fit in the same space as a soda-can. UNISEC is running a training program in Japan later this year, to train people on how to build and teach building of these ingenious devices.

Watch The 2nd CanSat Leader Training Program (CLTP2) held in Nihon University

Applications for the 4th CanSat Leader Training Program (CLTP4) http://www.unisec.jp/flash/index-e.html

Apr 14 2013

Amateur Radio Satellite Operation Planned From Inner Hebrides Islands

Camb-Hams Amateur Radio Van

Camb-Hams Amateur Radio Van

Members of Camb-Hams will once again activate the Isle of Mull (IOSA NH15, SCOTIA CN10, WLOTA 2485), Inner Hebrides, as GS3PYE/p between May 10-16. The Camb-Hams have been activating the Scottish Isles each year since 2008.

Look for thirteen operators to be active on all bands and many modes from 160-2 meters as well as 472 kHz. The HF bands will be covered by five simultaneous stations, while 6m, 4m and 2m stations will have a great take-off towards the UK and Europ from the island’s south-east coast in IO76 square.

Amateur Radio Satellite FO-29

Amateur Radio Satellite FO-29

They will have an antenna elevation system for 2m EME activity and will also be on many of the VHF/UHF satellite passes. WSPR beacons will be operating on most of the inactive bands to help find the best propagation. Contest operations will take place in 70 MHz CW on May 12th and 432 MHz UKAC on May 14th. The group will be active on the major social networks before, during and after the trip.

You can check on progress or interact with the operators via:

Blog http://dx.camb-hams.com/
Twitter http://twitter.com/g3pye
Facebook http://facebook.com/CambHams
YouTube http://youtube.com/CambHams

Previous trips have generated some great audio and video recordings of the GS3PYE/P signal from around the world. Check their previous blogs and their YouTube channel and see if you can post a better recording.

Please E-mail skeds-2013@camb-hams.com to arrange skeds on the more challenging bands and modes. VHF and EME skeds will also be made via ON4KST and N0UK’s EME Chat. All links are available via http://dx.camb-hams.com/

[Thanks to ANS and Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1107 for the above information]