IARU position on nanosatellites and picosatellites Resolution 757

IARU_LogoDuring a teleconference in mid-May, the IARU Administrative Council authorized the distribution of a paper which sets forth the IARU positions on the agenda items that will be considered during the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2015. The agenda items that impact amateur radio and amateur-satellite services including the IARU position on each of those agenda items have been published in the IARU E Newsletter for May 29, 2013.

Agenda Item 9.1.8 – Regulatory aspects for nanosatellites and picosatellites (Resolution 757 (WRC-12))

Resolution 757 calls for the results of studies of the procedures for notifying space networks that presently apply to nanosatellites and picosatellites to be reported to WRC-15. Because of the possible implications of these studies for the amateur and amateur-satellite services, the IARU is following the progress of these studies attentively. Nanosatellites and picosatellites that are properly licensed in the amateur-satellite service and are operated consistent with the purposes of the amateur and amateur-satellite services as defined in Nos. 1.56 and 1.57 may utilize the provisions of Resolution 642.

Nano and picosatellite (CubeSat) resolution at WRC-12

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The American University in Cairo AUC CubeSat

The American University in Cairo AUC CubeSat is building a CubeSat which aims to provide surface imaging.

Watch AUC CubeSat

AUC CubeSat http://spaceresearch.wix.com/discover#!__auc-cubesat

AUC CubeSat on Twitter https://twitter.com/AUC_CubeSat

AUC CubeSat cake images
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521513907910144.1073741840.334031043325099&type=3

BBC: Ecuador Pegasus CubeSat fears over space debris crash

CubeSat NEE-01 Pegasus

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

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

First picture taken by ESTCube-1 CubeSat amateur radio callsign ES5E

ESTCube-1_first_picture_from_space

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

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 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

NEE-01 Pegasus 910 MHz TV Camera in Action

NEE-01 Pegasus (Pegaso) the first of two HD TV CubeSats built in Ecuador launched on a CZ-2D rocket from the Jiuquan Space Center on Friday, April 26 at 0413 UT.

The 1U CubeSat (10x10x10 cm) was built in Ecuador and carries a 0.9 watt output 720p HD TV transmitter on 910 MHz (an amateur radio band in some countries).

Watch NEE-01 Pegaso recording May 16, 2013

EarthCam has teamed up with the Ecuadorian Civilian Space Agency to deliver what EarthCam describe as an amazing viewing experience from an orbiting satellite. You can view the NEE-01 Pegasus SpaceCam online at http://www.earthcam.com/world/ecuador/ecsa/

NEE-01 Pegasus (Pegaso) 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

AMSAT Fox-1 Ham Radio CubeSat Announcement

Fox-1 CubeSat at the Dayton Hamvention - Image Credit ARRL

AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention – Image Credit ARRL

NASA announced on May 13, 2013 that AMSAT’s Fox-1 amateur radio spacecraft has been assigned for launch in November 2014 on the ELaNa XII mission. The expected orbit is 470 x 780 km at 64 degrees inclination. This orbit has a lifetime of about 11 years.

AMSAT Vice President Engineering, Tony Monteiro, AA2TX, reported that the software development team successfully brought up the Fox-1 system software on the Internal Housekeeping Unit (IHU). The IHU is the brains of the Fox-1 satellite and it has a 32-bit, STM32L microprocessor. The operating IHU card was shown in the AMSAT Engineering booth at the Dayton Hamvention.

AMSAT FOXThe Fox-1 Engineering Team will deliver the satellite for integration with the launch vehicle during May, 2014 with the launch scheduled for November, 2014. Tony commented, “While this is later than we had hoped, it is well within the normal variance of ELaNa launch dates and the extra time will be most welcome for additional satellite testing. This is very exciting news and really puts the focus on finishing the satellite and ground station software development.”

President Barry Baines says, “AMSAT’s focus on STEM education and development of a CubeSat platform capable of flying a science mission with a reliable communications link resulted in the selection of Fox-1 in the third round and RadFxSat (Fox-1B) in the fourth round of NASA’s Cubesat Launch Initiative.”

All Fox CubeSats are designed to host advanced science payloads to support future science missions that help us to continue qualify for NASA ELaNa (free) launches. The Phase 1 Fox satellites are 1-Unit CubeSats. They each include an analog FM repeater that will allow simple ground stations using an HT and an “arrow” type antenna to make contacts using the satellite. This was the mode made so popular by AO-51. The Phase 1 CubeSats also have the capability of operating in a high-speed digital mode for data communications. Phase 2 Fox satellites will include software-defined-transponders (SDX) like the one tested on ARISSat-1. These will be able to operate in a wide variety of analog and digital communications modes including linear transponders. Since this requires more power for reliable operation, these will probably all be 3-Unit CubeSats.

Source: AMSAT News Service (ANS) http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=443

A 1U CubeSat, Fox-1a will serve as a communications relay for radio amateurs worldwide via the onboard FM repeater system. Fox-1a will also carry an experiment consisting of a 3-axis MEMs gyro developed by Penn State University. The communications and experiment missions will run concurrently. An uplink on 435.180 MHz for FM voice and a downlink on 145.980 MHz with FM voice and an optional sub audible FSK digital carrier channel has been coordinated. Fox-1a will employ passive magnetic stabilization.

For more information see http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2012/2012_Symposium_Fox_Overview.pdf

Fox-1a is planning to launch from Vandenburg during 2014 on the NASA ElanaXII mission with ARC1, BisonSat, Lightsail and R2S(NEO)

AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB) http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/maillist/