Tag Archives: CubeSat

Mar 22 2013

STRaND-1 Update – Ground Station Improvements Underway

STRaND-1 Ground Station Antennas

STRaND-1 Ground Station Antennas

Surrey Space Centre report that the STRAND-1 satellite is healthy but they have had new ground station teething problems. That has diverted effort and delayed the eagerly awaited switch-on of the Google Nexus One smartphone carried by the CubeSat.

The team are currently scouting University of Surrey rooftops for a better antenna position for STRaND-1.

The STRaND-1 downlink frequency is 437.568 MHz using 9k6 bps AX.25 packet radio. Details of the telemetry format are at https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/strand-1-telemetry/

Surrey Space Centre https://www.facebook.com/pages/Surrey-Space-Centre/147861435274871

Follow Surrey Space Centre https://twitter.com/SpaceAtSurrey

Mar 22 2013

SOMP Students Oxygen Measurement Project Carries Amateur Radio Payload

SOMP-1

SOMP Students Oxygen Measurement Project – Image credit Technische Universität Dresden

The Student Oxygen Measurement Project (SOMP) is a cubesat developed by students of the Technische Universität Dresden, Germany, organized in the Students’ Research Group for Spacecraft Engineering in Dresden (STARD). SOMP will be a standard sized single CubeSat (10X10X10 cm) with one payload side and five sides with two solar cells each. The antenna concept foresees a 4 monopole concept. The CubeSat will be able to determine and to a limited extent, also control the attitude.

It is planned to launch on April 19, 2013, from Baikonur in Kazakhstan along with OSSI-1, BEESAT2 and BEESAT3. A variety of downlink options on 437.485 MHz have been proposed, including CW, 1k2 and 9k6 BPSK and AX25 FSK also AO40 standard 400bit/s BPSK

SOMP is an educational satellite project. Designing and developing SOMP will allow the students to practically apply their knowledge and gaining unique hands-on experience in many aspects of a space project. The mission objectives are:

1. Prototype development of a satellite bus

2. Verification of the satellite

3. Launch of the satellite SOMP

4. Establishment of first contact with SOMP

5. Operation of the satellite to fulfill scientific mission objectives

SOMP has two scientific objectives: the first objective is to measure the concentration of atomic oxygen in the upper atmosphere using an oxygen electrolyte sensor. The second is the testing of flexible thin film solar cells (TFSC), that have never been tested in space before.

Contact the SOMP team at stard@mailbox.tu-dresden.de

SOMP http://phpweb.tu-dresden.de/stard/SOMP/?lang=en

Mar 20 2013

Ham Radio Satellites in The Independent

OSSI-1 weighs 963 grams

OSSI-1 weighs 963 grams

The Newfoundland and Labrador Independent reports on two amateur radio satellite projects.

The article covers FITSat-1 (Niwaka) developed under the leadership of Takushi Tanaka JA6AVG and the Open Source Satellite Initiative CubeSat OSSI-1 developed by Korean artist Hojun Song DS1SBO.

Read The Independent article at http://theindependent.ca/2013/03/20/narratives-in-orbit/

Further FITSat-1 information at https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/techedsat-f-1-fitsat-1-we-wish/

OSSI-1 plans to launch April 19, 2013, further  information at https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/ossi-1/

Mar 17 2013

Nanosatellite Separation Experiment Using a P-POD Deployment Mechanism

AMSAT-UK_Bevelled_LogoThese video shows CubeSat deployment experiments carried out in a weightless environment on the “Vomit Comet” aircraft by students from the University of Texas.

The team write:

Nanosatellites are becoming increasingly common in the aerospace industry due to their reduced size, small mass, and economical cost. These small satellites will often operate in groups rather than as single satellites, and once they are clear of the carrier, separate from one another.One topic of immense interest is the characterization of the separation dynamics of such satellites.

Continue reading →

Mar 17 2013

FCC Guidance On Obtaining Licenses For Small Satellites

Image of a CubeSat in Space

Image of a CubeSat in Space

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Public Notice to provide guidance concerning FCC licensing of spectrum for use by small satellites, including satellites that fall within the categories of pico-satellites, nano-satellites and cubesats.

The advent of such small satellite designs has brought with it dramatically lower launch costs, enabling a larger range of organizations to directly launch satellites. Institutions such as universities and research organizations that previously found it cost prohibitive to launch their own satellite can now participate in the exploration of space. Many of these participants may be unfamiliar with the spectrum licensing, scheduling and other requirements attendant on satellites. This Public Notice seeks to alert affected parties of these requirements and thus aid small satellite operators in the planning necessary for a successful launch operation.

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Mar 16 2013

NASA EDGE – CubeSat Launch Initiative

NASA EDGE talks to NASA about how they’re helping students and professionals launch their own mini satellites known as CubeSats. The CubeSat Launch Initiative provides new opportunities for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics by helping people design, launch and collect data.

Watch NASA EDGE CubeSat Launch Initiative