ANTELSAT CubeSat

ANTELSAT is a 2U CubeSat class satellite with a 70 cm SSTV downlink and amateur radio AX.25 Digipeater that is planning a Yasny Dnepr launch in November, 2013. It has been developed by ANTEL (the national telecom service provider) and Facultad de Ingeniería de la Universidad de la República (FING), the State Faculty of Engineering.

The purpose is to build and operate the first satellite ever launched into orbit by Uruguay. Its goal is to develop skills in radio and aerospace engineering, to promote enthusiasm in STEM education at all levels, and provide challenging activities for undergraduate students. The spacecraft is planned to transmit colour and infrared images of the surface of the earth, and to provide several services to radio amateurs (AX.25 digipeater, telemetry beacon, uplink signal report, SSTV downlink). The mission is purely experimental and a technology demonstrator of all the satellite subsystems, which have been custom designed locally.

Communications:
– VHF receiver on 2m amateur band, 1200bps AX25 protocol.
– Telecommand uplink.
– Store and forward (digipeater) service uplink.
– UHF transmitter on 70cm amateur band:
– CW beacon.
– Telemetry downlink at 1200 bps AX25 protocol.
– Backup downlink for image data via low resolution SSTV.
– Store and forward service downlink.
– S-band transmitter on 2.4 GHz:
– Downlink for payload image data.
– Telemetry backup link.
– 2 redundant transmitters.

Attitude control:
– Attitude determination via magnetometer and photodetectors.
– Active 3-axis control via magnetorquers.

Brochure: http://iie.fing.edu.uy/investigacion/grupos/lai/files/ANTELSAT_brochure_2012W01.pdf

It is reported that ANTEL contributed nearly $700,000 towards the project
http://tinyurl.com/ANTELSAT-2013

ANTELSAT in Google English http://tinyurl.com/ANTELSAT

IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination Status http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru