Tag Archives: Amateur Radio

Mar 7 2013

Interorbital Systems CEO Randa Relich Milliron on The Space Show

Randa Relich Milliron CEO Interorbital Systems

Randa Relich Milliron CEO Interorbital Systems

In this edition of The Space Show Randa Relich Milliron CEO of Interorbital Systems talks about the latest developments at the company which is developing a low-cost satellite launch capability using the Neptune rocket. She indicated the first launches will be sub-orbital.

A number of amateur radio CubeSats and TubeSats are planning to be launched by Interorbital. A launch manifest can be seen at http://www.interorbital.com/Launch%20Manifest%20Page%20_1.htm

Wes Faler also appears on the show. He has been building an Ion powered TubeSat for an Interorbital launch. Wes plans to use a closed cell foam filled with pressurized nitrogen, vaporizing the supporting plastic and releasing the enclosed nitrogen using a spark system similar to that used by Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTs).  PPTs create an arc across the face of a solid Teflon bar, turning a few micrograms of Teflon into plasma.  The plasma moves along the PPT’s cathode and anode by Lorentz forces, much the same way that a rail gun accelerates its conducting projectile.

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Mar 6 2013

IITMSat Satellite Project at AAS-AIAA Spaceflight Mechanics Meeting

Deepti Kannapan 23rd AAS-AIAA Spaceflight Mechanics Meeting 2013-02

Deepti Kannapan at the 23rd AAS-AIAA Spaceflight Mechanics Meeting

The 2013 Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, hosted by the American Astronautical Society (AAS) and co-hosted by American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) took place in Kauai, Hawaii, February 10-14, 2013.

At the meeting Deepti Kannapan presented her paper on a new attitude control algorithm developed as a part of her Dual Degree Project. This algorithm is being implemented in the IIT Madras Student Satellite (IITMSat) that is being developed by students at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras.

IITMSat Primary Mission Objectives:
• To design, fabricate, test and launch a small-satellite (15kg), that demonstrates all features of satellite functioning, and build a ground station for collection of data from the satellite
• To measure the energy spectrum of protons and electrons beneath the inner-Van Allen radiation belt boundary (600-800 km) to aid earthquake prediction studies
• Interpret the data received from the satellite and analyze the effects of solar flares, lightning storms and seismic activity on the radiation belts

23rd AAS-AIAA conference schedule http://www.space-flight.org/docs/2013_winter/FinalProgram.pdf

IITMSAT http://iitmsat.iitm.ac.in/

IITMSat on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/iitmsat/372808989404716

Mar 1 2013

Ion Propulsion: Euroluna Update on CubeSat HT Power Supply

Romit1 - Image Credit GomSpace ApS

Romit1 – Image Credit GomSpace ApS

In this video Palle Haastrup OZ1HIA, President of Euroluna (OZ9LUNA), describes their work towards a flight ready high tension power supply for the CubeSat Ion propulsion system.

Euroluna are a Danish amateur team participating in the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE contest to be the first privately funded team to land and drive a rover on the Moon.

Their first Amateur Radio CubeSat Romit-1 is a 2U CubeSat that will transmit on 437.505 MHz using 1200 bps AX.25 packet radio. It will be fitted with an Ion Motor and if everything goes well it should, after a year, be able to raise its orbit from 310 km to 700 km. It is planned to launch on an Interorbital Systems Neptune 30 rocket.

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Mar 1 2013

UKSEDS National Student Space Conference 2013 Pictures

UKSEDS_square_800Jim Heck G3WGM, Honorary Secretary of AMSAT-UK and project lead on the FUNcube amateur radio satellite project, gave a presentation on FUNcube-1 to the UKSEDS National Student Space Conference (NSSC) that took place in Bristol on February 23-24.

The Chair of UKSEDS, Damian Rumble, has released some pictures of the conference at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.432122870198839.1073741825.347105152033945&type=1

Mar 1 2013

Tiny Satellites’ Big Mission: Going Beyond Earth Orbit

Artist’s concept of the Interplanetary NanoSpacecraft Pathfinder In Relevant Environment (INSPIRE) CubeSat project – Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Artist’s concept of the Interplanetary NanoSpacecraft Pathfinder In Relevant Environment (INSPIRE) CubeSat project – Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

TechNewsDaily contributor Rachel Kaufman interviewed James Cutler KF6RFX about two CubeSats that aim to travel into interplanetary space.

The two Interplanetary NanoSpacecraft Pathfinder In Relevant Environment (INSPIRE) satellites measure just 10x10x30 cm and each weigh under 4kg.

The dual INSPIRE CubeSats will demonstrate functionality, communication, navigation and payload hosting in interplanetary space. INSPIRE is a NASA JPL partnership with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; and the University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with Goldstone-Apple Valley Radio Telescope.

Read Rachel Kaufman’s article at
http://www.space.com/20022-tiny-cubesat-satellites-head-for-space.html

NASA Announces New CubeSat Space Mission Candidates
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/jpl/news/cubesat20130226.html

2012 – NanoTHOR: Low-Cost Launch of Nanosatellites to Deep Space
http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/niac/2012_phase_I_fellows_hoyt.html

Feb 28 2013

IARU Announces Frequencies for Korean Ham Radio CubeSat OSSI

Hojun Song DS1SBO and the NovaNano FlyMate deployer

Hojun Song DS1SBO and the NovaNano FlyMate deployer

The IARU amateur radio satellite frequency coordination panel has announced the frequencies for the OSSI-1 CubeSat developed by Hojun Song DS1SBO.

Artist and radio amateur Hojun Song DS1SBO has spent 7 years developing his Open Source Satellite Initiative satellite OSSI-1. He has designed and developed it from scratch using readily available components rather than expensive space qualified hardware. It has a beacon in the 145 MHz band, a data communications transceiver in the 435 MHz band and carries a 44 watt LED optical beacon to flash Morse Code messages to observers on Earth.

OSSI-1 is planned to launch on April 19, 2013 into a 575 km 64.9° inclination orbit on a Soyuz-2-1b rocket from the Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan along with the Bion-M1, SOMP, BEESAT 2, BEESAT 3 and Dove-2 satellites.

The IARU amateur satellite frequency coordination panel has announced frequencies for a downlink on 145.980 MHz and an uplink/downlink on 437.525 MHz.

Video – How the Amateur Radio Satellite OSSI-1 Works
https://amsat-uk.org/2012/08/10/video-how-the-amateur-radio-ossi-1-satellite-works/

Watch the BBC TV report: Korean artist has high hopes for his homemade satellite
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19007475

OSSI CubeSat in New Scientist Magazine
https://amsat-uk.org/2012/11/06/ossi-cubesat-in-new-scientist-magazine/

Hojun Song DS1SBO visited London to give a well received presentation on his CubeSat to WIRED 2012
https://amsat-uk.org/2012/10/24/cubesat-developer-hojun-song-to-attend-wired-2012-london/

Data Format for Korean OSSI CubeSat
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/01/23/data-format-for-korean-ossi-cubesat/

Open Source Satellite Initiative (OSSI) http://opensat.cc/