Tag Archives: CubeSat

Oct 17 2013

FUNcube-1 has arrived in Russia

The vital FUNcube-1 Add Before Flight (ABF) plug

The vital FUNcube-1 Add Before Flight (ABF) plug

The amateur radio FUNcube-1 CubeSat has arrived in Russia and is now en-route to the Dombarovsky launch site near Yasny.

A few small CubeSats in a large case being loaded into a special cargo hold

A few small CubeSats in a large case being loaded into a special cargo hold

It was flown on a special flight from Rotterdam on Wednesday, October 16 and cleared Russian customs on Thursday,, October 17. Another flight took it to Orsk from where it had a road trip of several hours before arriving at the launch integration facility at Yasny.

The only work that still needs to be completed before launch is a final battery charge up to 7.68 volts,  this is the best storage voltage this type of battery, and the final ABF “Add Before Flight” plug needs to be installed and glued in place.

This work will be done on site by Gerard Aalbers who has been a member of the FUNcube team from the beginning of the project.

FUNcube-1 communication subsystem:
• 300 mW Inverting linear transponder for SSB and CW
– Uplink      435.150 – 435.130 MHz
– Downlink  145.950 – 145.970 MHz
• 300 mW BPSK Telemetry  145.935 MHz (30 mW output when transponder active)

AMSAT-UK FUNcube Mission Patch Rev4 20100609

AMSAT-UK FUNcube Mission Patch

The Yasny Dnepr launch will carry more than ten spacecraft using the amateur satellite service and one of them, UniSat-5, will, itself, later deploy up to nine CubeSats and PocketQubes so there should be plenty of new signals to listen for after this launch.

Italian Microsat to Deploy Amateur Radio Satellites
https://amsat-uk.org/2012/05/25/italian-microsat-to-deploy-six-amateur-radio-satellites/

Battery Charger for FUNcube-1 https://amsat-uk.org/2012/05/25/italian-microsat-to-deploy-amateur-radio-satellites/

FUNcube Yahoo Group https://amsat-uk.org/funcube/yahoo-group/

Oct 10 2013

AMSAT-UK FUNcube-1 Presentation on Saturday

FUNcube-1 flight model - Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

FUNcube-1 flight model – Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

Dave Johnson G4DPZ will be giving a presentation on the amateur radio AMSAT-UK FUNcube-1 and UK Space Agency (UKSA) UKube-1 satellites to the RSGB Convention on Saturday.

The presentation will take place from 16:45-17:30 in the Cook 2 room at Horwood House, MK17 0PH on Saturday, October 12.

FUNcube-1 carries a 435/145 linear transponder for SSB and CW communications and an educational telemetry beacon using 1k2 BPSK for school outreach purposes.

Ukube-1 carries a set of AMSAT-UK FUNcube boards that will provide an additional 435/145 MHz linear transponder and educational telemetry beacon.

UKube-1 on display at UK Space Conference in Glasgow

UKube-1 on display at UK Space Conference in Glasgow

The current launch information has lift off for FUNcube-1 scheduled for late November and UKube-1 on February 20.

FUNcube-1 communication subsystem:
• 300 mW Inverting linear transponder for SSB and CW
– Uplink      435.150 – 435.130 MHz
– Downlink  145.950 – 145.970 MHz
• 300 mW BPSK Telemetry  145.935 MHz (30 mW when transponder active)

UKube-1 communications subsystem:
• Telemetry downlink 145.840 MHz,
• FUNcube subsystem beacon 145.915 MHz
• 400 mW Inverting linear transponder for SSB and CW
– Uplink     435.080 -435.060 MHz
– Downlink 145.930 -145.950 MHz
• S Band downlink 2401.0 MHz
• myPocketQub 437.425-437.525 MHz

The RSGB’s Centenary Convention, sponsored by Martin Lynch & Sons, takes place this weekend (Fri eve-Sun) October 11-13 at Horwood House, MK17 0PH just a few miles outside Milton Keynes. Tickets are available on the door.

RSGB Convention Schedule
http://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/rsgb-notices/2013/09/10/centenary-convention-2013-programme/

RSGB Centenary Convention
http://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/rsgb-notices/2013/07/10/rsgb-centenary-convention/

FUNcube Yahoo Group
https://amsat-uk.org/funcube/yahoo-group/

Oct 8 2013

STRaND-1 talk at RSGB Convention this Saturday

Dr Chris Bridges M6OBC working on STRaND-1 - Image credit Surrey Space Centre

Dr Chris Bridges M6OBC working on STRaND-1 – Image credit Surrey Space Centre

Dr Chris Bridges M6OBC of the Surrey Space Centre is one of the volunteers who developed the UK’s first CubeSat STRaND-1 on 437.568 MHz.

The STRaND-1 build and test phase took just 3 months

The STRaND-1 build and test phase took just 3 months

At 14:45 on Saturday, October 12 [note change in day/time] he will be providing an update on the satellite to those attending the RSGB Convention near Milton Keynes.

Launched on February 25, 2013 STRaND-1 was the first satellite to carry a Smartphone into space and attracted world-wide media interest.

At the heart of STRaND-1 is a Google Nexus One smartphone with an Android operating system. Smartphones contain highly advanced technologies and incorporate several key features that are integral to a satellite – such as cameras, radio links, accelerometers and high performance computer processors – almost everything a spacecraft needs except the solar panels and propulsion.

The RSGB’s Centenary Convention, sponsored by Martin Lynch & Sons, takes place this weekend (Fri eve-Sun) October 11-13 at Horwood House, MK17 0PH just a few miles outside Milton Keynes. Tickets are available on the door.

RSGB Convention Schedule
http://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/rsgb-notices/2013/09/10/centenary-convention-2013-programme/

RSGB Centenary Convention
http://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/rsgb-notices/2013/07/10/rsgb-centenary-convention/

STRaND-1 information https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/

Oct 1 2013

UK PocketQube Shop on Kickstarter

Wren - Image credit Stadoko

Wren – Image credit Stadoko

PocketQube Shop is a small startup based in Glasgow that has just launched a Kickstarter project. They believe small satellites are on the cusp of a major breakthrough much the like personal computers were in the late 70’s/early 80’s.

PocketQube Shop say they wish to facilitate as many PocketQube builders as possible and see huge potential in lowering the barriers to entry for budding ‘Homebrew Satellite Builders’.

PocketQube massively lowers the barriers to entry for small satellite teams. Despite the small size of CubeSats, 10x10x10 cm, they can still cost up to $100,000 to launch. PocketQubes are just 5x5x5 cm and may be launched for a significantly lower price, under $20,000.

PocketQube Shop will not be offering to provide any launch facility but they have teamed up with an Italian company called GAUSS which has brokered launch opportunities with a Russian rocket called Dnepr, operated by ISC Kosmotras.

Several satellites built to the PocketQube standard will be launched in November. These include Wren, which has a camera and pulsed plasma thrusters; Morehead State University’s BeakerSat; the University of Maryland’s QubeScout-S1 and the 50DollarSat.

PocketQube Shop on Kickstarter
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pocketqube/want-to-build-a-satellite-but-dont-have-a-nasa-siz

Wired article on PocketQube Shop
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-09/23/pocketqube

Twitter @pocketqubeshop

Oct 1 2013

February Launch for UKube-1 ?

UKube-1 on display at UK Space Conference in Glasgow

UKube-1 on display at UK Space Conference in Glasgow

Dmitry Pashkov UB4UAD reports that the launch of Soyuz-2-1B/Fregat-M from Baikonur in Kazakhstan has been postponed until February 20, 2014.

The Soyuz should carry Meteor-M number 2, MCA-PN2 (Relek), M3MSat, UKube-1, SkySat-2, TechDemoSat-1, AISSat-2, DX-1.

UKube-1, built by Clyde Space, is the UK Space Agency’s first CubeSat and carries a set of AMSAT-UK FUNcube boards to provide a 435/145 MHz linear transponder for SSB/CW communications and 1200 bps BPSK telemetry beacon.

TechDemoSat-1 was developed by the UK company SSTL.

Read the report by Dmitry Pashkov UB4UAD at http://ub4uad.ru/?p=1445 or in Google English at http://tinyurl.com/nzc5tdk

UKube-1 CubeSat Payload Animation https://amsat-uk.org/2013/02/01/ukube-1-cubesat-payload-animation/

FUNcube Yahoo Group https://amsat-uk.org/funcube/yahoo-group/

Sep 23 2013

UKube-1 in Radio Frequency International

UKube-1 on display at UK Space Conference in Glasgow

UKube-1 on display at UK Space Conference in Glasgow

The UK Space Agency’s first CubeSat UKube-1, expected to launch in December, will carry AMSAT-UK FUNcube boards. The boards will provide an amateur radio telemetry beacon and a 435/145 MHz linear transponder for SSB/CW communications.

Radio Frequency International interviewed L.A. based artists Amanda White and Jon M. Gibson who run iam8bit and have provided artwork which will be carried on the satellite.

Read the Radio Frequency International story at
http://radiofrequencyinternational.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/the-new-cubists/

AMSAT-UK FUNcube Yahoo Group https://amsat-uk.org/funcube/yahoo-group/