Tag Archives: CubeSats

Sep 6 2026

YouTube: The Addictive World of Amateur Radio Satellites

The Online Amateur Radio Community (OARC) talk by John Stringer M5JFS titled ‘Chasing Birds: The Addictive World of Amateur Radio Satellites’ is now on YouTube.

“An introduction to the world of amateur radio satellite working. John will start with a brief potted history of how he got hooked on this aspect of the hobby, getting started with very modest and basic gear that he had to hand and how he later developed and improved his ‘station’ to where it is today as he grew in experience and interest. He’ll then cover the types of satellites that are out there, the gear you need (or don’t need) to work them, operating etiquette and best practices, useful software, tools and social networks, and finally he’ll tell us about a few notable moments and achievements that he’s had in his 6 years on the birds.”

The Online Amateur Radio Community (OARC) on Discord has a dedicated channel for discussions of Satellites, including Weather Satellites, a separate channel for QO-100 discussions and numerous channels covering a wide range of amateur radio interests.
You can join OARC via https://oarc.uk/join

OARC Wiki pages https://wiki.oarc.uk/directory

Follow John Stringer M5JFS on X: https://x.com/M5Jfs

Follow AMSAT-UK on X: https://x.com/AmsatUK

Apr 18 2025

Issue 245 of OSCAR News Now Available

OSCAR News issue 245 front coverE-members of AMSAT-UK can now download the April 2025 edition of OSCAR News, issue 245, here.

The paper edition edition will be sent to postal members and should arrive in the next 2-3 weeks.

In this issue:
• From the Secretary’s Keyboard
• Satellite News
• Team 2: Canada VO100QO by Stefan Wagener VE4SW and John Langille VE1CWJ
• Roving in England & Wales by Endaf Buckley N6UTC / MW1BQ
• A Quadrifilar Helicoidal Antenna by Ron G4LMN
• AMSAT-UK Statement of Accounts
• The FUNcube-Lite Payload on Jovian-1 by David Bowman, G0MRF
• FUNcube Lite – Project Update by David Bowman, G0MRF
• ARISS Contact Report between the Girlguiding Surrey West Association and the International Space Station on 5th October 2024 by Ciaran Morgan M0XTD
• Goonhilly Radio Club M0XGH by David Johnson G4DPZ

AMSAT-UK FUNcube Mission Patch

AMSAT-UK FUNcube Mission Patch

Membership of AMSAT-UK is open to anyone who has an interest in amateur radio satellites or space activities, including the International Space Station (ISS).

E-members of AMSAT-UK are able to download the quarterly publication OSCAR News as a convenient PDF that can be read on laptops, tablets or smartphones anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Join as an E-member at Electronic (PDF) E-membership

PDF sample copy of “Oscar News” here.

Join AMSAT-UK using PayPal, Debit or Credit card at
http://shop.amsat-uk.org/

E-members can download their copies of OSCAR News here.

Feb 21 2014

Amateur radio CubeSats prepared for deployment

Koichi Wakata KC5ZTA installing CubeSat deployers on the Multipurpose Experiment Platform inside the Kibo laboratory of the ISS

Koichi Wakata KC5ZTA installing CubeSat deployers on the Multipurpose Experiment Platform inside the Kibo laboratory of the ISS

NASA reports that on Thursday, February 20, 2014, International Space Station (ISS) astronaut Koichi Wakata KC5ZTA worked in the Japanese Kibo laboratory to prepare the second batch of NanoRacks CubeSats for their deployment beginning next Tuesday.

He opened the inner hatch to the airlock and replaced the empty deployers on the Multipurpose Experiment Platform with loaded deployers. The platform and its deployers will be passed outside through the airlock to the Exposed Facility where Kibo’s robotic arm can grapple the platform and position the nanosatellites for launch. NanoRacks provides customers with CubeSat deployment services through a Space Act Agreement with NASA.

The deployment of the 12 commercial Planet Labs CubeSats is expected to take place at 1700 UT on Tuesday, February 25. The four amateur radio CubeSats LituanicaSat-1, LitSat-1, ArduSat-2, UAPSat-1 along with the 915 MHz SkyCube are expected to be deployed on Friday, February 28 at 07:30 UT.

Another amateur radio CubeSat the Peruvian Chasqui-1 was sent to the ISS on February 5, 2014. It is understood that Chasqui 1 is scheduled to be hand-deployed during a future Russian Extravehicular Activity (EVA).

CubeSats deployments are streamed live at http://m.ustream.tv/channel/live-iss-stream

For frequencies of the amateur radio CubeSats and pictures of previous deployments see
https://amsat-uk.org/2014/02/20/iss-cubesat-deployments-to-resume-february-25/

Nov 23 2013

Satellite TLE Challenge Begins

Dnepr Launch November 21, 2013 - Credit ISC Kosmotras

Dnepr Launch November 21, 2013 – Credit ISC Kosmotras

This week has seen deployments from the ISS, a Minotaur-1 and a Dnepr of an estimated 34 satellites carrying amateur radio payloads along with a number of commercial and research satellites.

After a launch the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) issue the Keplerian Two Line Element Set which can be used to determine the position and velocity of the associated satellite. CelesTrak make this information available and the file for launches in the past 30 days is available here.

After a new launch this file will list the ID’s of the objects that NORAD have detected. These objects can be parts of the rocket body as well as the satellites. The challenge in the days after launch is to work out which object ID’s correspond to which satellites.

On the AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB) Nico Janssen PA0DLO has posted an overview of the presently known IDs for the satellites that were launched between November 19-21.

ISS JSSOD Cubesat launches
2013-11-19 12:18 UTC
39412 1998-067DA  Pico Dragon ?
39413 1998-067DB  ArduSat 1 ?
39414 1998-067DC  ArduSat X ?
To be confirmed when the objects have more separation.
2013-11-20 07:58 UTC
39415 1998-067DD  TechEdSat 3P

Minotaur 1, Wallops Flight Facility
2013-11-20 01:15 UTC
ORS3 & ELaNa 4: 29 satellites
So far only 4 TLEs published. No IDs yet but probably:
39380 2013-064A  STPSat 3

Dnepr, Yasny
2013-11-21 07:10:11 UTC
32 satellites
19 TLEs published
39417 2013-066B  FUNcube 1
39427 2013-066M  Triton 1
39428 2013-066N  Delfi-n3Xt

Note that all designations may change later on.

73,
Nico PA0DLO

Keplerian Two Line Elements (TLEs or ‘Keps’):
• New satellites launched in past 30 days http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/tle-new.txt
• CubeSats http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/cubesat.txt
• Experimental satellites http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/x-comm.txt
• Engineering satellites http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/engineering.txt
• Amateur radio satellites http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/nasa.all

NORAD Two-Line Element Set Format http://celestrak.com/NORAD/documentation/tle-fmt.asp

ISS CubeSats https://amsat-uk.org/2013/11/16/iss-cubesats-deploy-tuesday-and-wednesday/

Minotaur-1 ELaNa-4 launch https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/elana-4-cubesats/

Dnepr Yasny launch https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/dnepr-november-2013/

Oct 13 2013

QB50 satellites apply for frequency coordination

Typical QB50 CubeSatThe first CubeSats of the planned QB50 satellite constellation have applied to the IARU for frequency coordination.

QB50 has the scientific objective to study in situ the temporal and spatial variations of a number of key constituents and parameters in the lower thermosphere (90-320 km) with a network of about 40 double and 10 triple CubeSats. These, university built, CubeSats will be launched into a 320 km circular orbit, will be separated by a few hundred kilometres and carry identical science sensors.

The sensors will monitor parameters that will greatly increase our knowledge and understanding of this little explored region of the E and F layers of the Ionosphere. QB50 will also study the re-entry process by measuring a number of key parameters during re-entry and by comparing predicted and actual CubeSat trajectories and orbital lifetimes.

Some of the first CubeSats to apply for frequency coordination are SUSat, Hoopoe/IL01, SAT-IP2, ExAlta-1, OGMS-SA, InflateSail, XCubesat, SpaceCube, UNSA-SAT1, EntrySat, PHOENIX and Dragsat-CubeSat, see http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/formal.php

QB50: Amateur Radio transponder payloads to launch 2014
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/20/qb50-amateur-radio-transponder-payloads-to-launch-2014/

More information about the QB50 project can be found at http://www.qb50.eu/

Jul 28 2013

JAXA Plan CubeSat Deployment from ISS

Kibo Robot Arm CubeSat Deployment

Kibo Robot Arm CubeSat Deployment

Masa JN1GKZ reports on four CubeSats that are being sent to the International Space Station on August 4, 2013.

The Japanese space agency JAXA has announced that four CubeSats will be deployed from the ISS by the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD).

The four CubeSats are:
• PicoDragon a 1U CubeSat developed by Vietnam National Satellite Center(VNSC), University of Tokyo, IHI aerospace. CW beacon on 437.250 MHz and 1k2 AFSK AX.25 telemetry on 437.365 MHz
• ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X 1U CubeSats developed by Nanorack, NanoSatisfi. ArduSat-1 437.325 MHz 9k6 MSK CCSDS downlink. ArduSat-X 437.345MHz 9k6 MSK CCSDS downlink.
• TechEdSat-3 a 3U CubeSat developed by NASA Ames Research Center

All the satellites should be sent to the ISS by the HTV-4 launcher on August 4, 2013.

The four CubeSats are expected to be deployed from the ISS sometime between October 2013 and March 2014.

It is believed that the company Nanorack will be deploying a number of CubeSats from the ISS this year, they may also be going to the ISS on HTV-4. Aviation Week say Nanorack expects to launch as many as 38 of the units on the first mission. Since CubeSats can be 1U, 2U or 3U in size it’s likely that the number of CubeSats will be less than 38. A figure of 26 CubeSats has been quoted on the IARU amateur satellite frequency coordination page but it is unclear how many of those will be carrying amateur radio payloads.

It is understood Nanorack charge $85,000 per 1U CubeSat for its ISS deployment service, see the Nanorack article at
http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=%2Farticle-xml%2FAW_07_22_2013_p28-597963.xml

Also on the HTV-4 launch in August will be the HamVideo transmitter, part of the 2.4 GHz HamTV system. This will be installed in the ISS Columbus module.
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/05/12/hamtv-from-the-iss/

NASA Interns build a CubeSat
https://amsat-uk.org/2013/07/25/interns-build-a-cubesat/