Tag Archives: Ham Radio

Dec 13 2014

ARTSAT2:DESPATCH spacecraft becomes FO-81

ARTSAT2:DESPATCH Internal Structure

ARTSAT2:DESPATCH Internal Structure

OSCAR Number Administrator Bill Tynan, W3XO issued this announcement on December 12:

“Since DESPATCH appears to have met all of the requirements for an OSCAR number, including IARU coordination, I hereby with the authority vested in me be by the AMSAT-NA President, do confer on DESPATCH, the OSCAR number Fuji OSCAR 81 or FO-81.”

ARTSAT2 DESPATCH Deep Space Sculpture

ARTSAT2 DESPATCH Deep Space Sculpture

Continuing, Bill wrote, “I use the Fuji designation in recognition of the long history of contributions the Japanese have made to Amateur Radio satellites. I trust that Fuji OSCAR-81’s mission will be successful and much valuable data will be collected.”

Akihiro Kubota replied from Japan, “It is a great honor for us to receive the OSCAR number from AMSAT. We are very glad to hear it! FO-81 form the name of Fuji is also special for us. DESPATCH will transmit its beacon until this Xmas. We will keep informed of the status of the mission and share it over the world.”

AMSAT congratulates the DESPATCH and ARTSAT teams!

Source ANS

New tracking utilities for the DESPATCH and Shin’en2 spacecraft are available at
http://ji1izr.air-nifty.com/ham_satellite/in_english/index.html

Polish radio amateurs two million km record https://amsat-uk.org/2014/12/09/despatch-2m-km-record/

Dec 13 2014

CubeSat Amateur Laser Communications

Block diagram of proposed Cubesat with laser communicator - Credit Oleg Nizhnik

Block diagram of proposed Cubesat with laser communicator – Credit Oleg Nizhnik

On November 19 Oleg Nizhnik gave a presentation on CubeSat amateur laser communication with Earth to Moon orbit data link capability.

In his paper Oleg says the available bands at 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz for amateur satellite communication are increasingly crowded. Higher frequency amateur bands meanwhile require uncommon microwave parts to implement transceivers, and working with 10 GHz or above require electric power typically not available in CubeSat. Therefore, to enable amateur Moon exploration, amateur laser communicator built of common, low-cost parts will help to extend amateur satellites operating range up to at least moon orbit.

The presentation was made in the 3rd Mission Idea Contest (MIC3) held during the 2nd UNISEC Global Meeting at Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu, Japan, Nov. 19, 2014.

Watch MIC3 #7 – CubeSat amateur laser communication with Earth to Moon orbit data link capability

Presentation slides https://www.spacemic.net/pdf/mic3_finalist/P8)CubeSat%20amateur%20laser.pdf

Abstract https://www.spacemic.net/pdf/mic3_finalist/8)CubeSat%20amateur%20laser%20communicator%20with%20Earth%20to%20Moon%20orbit%20data%20link%20capability.pdf

The videos of other presentations given at MIC3 are at
https://www.youtube.com/user/UNISECmovie/videos

Slides and abstracts are at
https://www.spacemic.net/index.html#finalpresentations

Dec 13 2014

Amateur Satellite Seed Funding

AMSAT FOXOn December 2, 2014 the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors approved Technology Development Seed Funding.

As a part of AMSAT’s “Design The Next AMSAT Satellite” challenge, the Board of Directors approved $5000, within the 2015 engineering budget, to be used as seed money for future satellite development. Additional fund raising sources will also be investigated and pursued.

AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, said, “We’re prepared to return to space starting in 2015 with a fleet of satellites that will equal, if not exceed, the performance, and availability to the average ham, of our previously popular AMSAT OSCAR 51. Meanwhile, we are preparing for the future looking to potentially leverage new technologies, to provide the best opportunities for enhancing amateur radio’s presence in space.”

Director Tom Clark, K3IO, noted the need for a defined future systems program. Tom said, “We saw a significant number of both new and old members who want to see the development of critical system elements for future opportunities by 2018-20. As I see it, critical ‘tall poles’ in applying potential technologies require significant work to begin now to ensure success.”

AMSAT is interested in supporting technology ideas that enhance the utility of using the CubeSat form factor to support more robust amateur satellite capabilities.  The scope of potential interest in not limited; some examples of  technology enhancement might include:

+ Microwave technology suitable for use in amateur spacecraft. This includes the need to identify optimum frequency bands.

+ Complementary, low-cost ground systems, including an effective ~1º antenna pointing system.

+ Define and develop optimum coding and modulation schemes for low power microwave use.

+ Attitude determination & control systems to point the spacecraft antennas towards the user while maximizing solar panel production.

Individuals interested in learning more about this initiative should contact AMSAT Vice President-Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY (n0jy at amsat.org).

Meanwhile, the development of AMSAT’s current series of the Fox-1 cubesats continues on schedule. AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY reported during the Board meeting that construction and testing of five Fox satellites is on schedule:

+ Fox-1A will launch on a NASA ELaNa flight during the 3rd quarter of 2015 from Vandenberg AFB,

+ Fox-1B will fly with the Vanderbilt University radiation experiments expected in 2016.

+ Fox-1C will launch on Spaceflight’s maiden mission of the SHERPA multi-cubesat deployer during the 3rd quarter of 2015. This flight was purchased by AMSAT.

+ Fox-1D is a flight spare for Fox-1C. If not needed as a spare it will become available to launch on any open launch slot which becomes available and be submitted in a CSLI proposal in 2015.

+ Fox-1E is built as a flight spare for Fox-1B but has been included in a student science proposal as part of the November, 2014 Cubesat Launch Initiative (CSLI) for an ELaNa flight slot. If selected the Fox-1B spare will fly as Fox-1E.

More details of the “Design The Next AMSAT Satellite” challenge can be found on-line at:
http://www.amsat.org/?p=3395

[ANS thanks the AMSAT Board Of Directors for the above information]

AMSAT-NA http://amsat.org/

Dec 11 2014

UWE-3 CubeSat Update

UWE-3 LogoUWE-3 was launched with FUNcube-1 on November 21, 2013, the team say they will now be temporarily ending operations.

Today, more than one year after launch, there will be a temporary end of operations caused by the end of funding.

However, UWE-3 is in a very good health condition with fully charged batteries and operations may be continued depending on future research plans.  

Without any reception from ground, UWE-3 will carry out a warm reset every four days and switch regularly between the redundant on-board processors and radios. Therefore, UWE-3 will switch back to its nominal frequency of 437.385 MHz.

Nevertheless we appreciate the extensive support we received from the HAM amateurs in the past and hope that also in the future the status of UWE-3 will be monitored with your support, like you did so many times in the past year. Thank you so much for the very helpful cooperation in this respect!

Yours sincerely,

UWE-3 Team

UEW-3 News
http://www7.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/forschung/space_exploration/projects/uwe_3/uwe_3_news/

Dec 10 2014

Send your code into space with astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI

Students programming the Astro Pi computers Credit: UK Space Agency (Max Alexander)

Students programming the Astro Pi computers Credit: UK Space Agency (Max Alexander)

Leading UK space organisations have joined forces with UK Astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI and Raspberry Pi to offer students a chance to devise and code their own apps or experiment to run in space. Two Raspberry Pi computers are planned to be flown to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Tim’s 6 month mission and both will be connected to a new “Astro Pi” board, loaded with a host of sensors and gadgets.

Launched December 10 at an event held by the UK Space Agency, the Astro Pi competition will be officially opened at the BETT conference (January 21-24) and will be open to all primary and secondary school aged children who are resident in the United Kingdom. The competition will be supported by a comprehensive suite of teaching resources that are being developed by ESERO-UK and Raspberry Pi.

Astro Pi Logo

Astro Pi Logo

During his mission to the ISS, Tim Peake KG5BVI plans to deploy the Astro Pi computers in a number of different locations on board the ISS. He will then load up the winning code whilst in orbit, set them running, collect the data generated and then download this to Earth where it will be distributed to the winning teams.

Speaking at the Astro Pi launch event, Dr David Parker, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, also revealed that the UK Space Agency has been given a £2 million programme, as part of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, to support further outreach activities around Tim’s mission, particularly to help inspire interest in STEM subjects.

Tim Peake KG5BVI said I’m really excited about this project, born out of the cooperation among UK industries and institutions. There is huge scope for fun science and useful data gathering using the Astro Pi sensors on board the International Space Station. This competition offers a unique chance for young people to learn core computing skills that will be extremely useful in their future. It’s going to be a lot of fun!

To help students on their way in developing their code, five inspirational themes have been devised to stimulate creativity and scientific thinking. The themes are Spacecraft Sensors, Satellite Imaging, Space Measurements, Data Fusion and Space Radiation.

A Raspberry Pi computer. Credit: UK Space Agency (Max Alexander).

A Raspberry Pi computer. Credit: UK Space Agency (Max Alexander).

In the primary school age category, teams will be asked to devise and describe an original idea for an experiment or application which can be conducted on the Astro Pi by Tim during his mission. The two best submissions will get the opportunity to work with the Astro Pi team to interpret their ideas and the team at the Raspberry Pi Foundation will then code them ready for flight on the ISS.

In the secondary school age group, the competition will be run across three age categories, one for each of Key Stages 3, 4 and 5 (in England and Wales, and their equivalent ages in Scotland and Northern Ireland). In the first phase, competitors can submit their ideas for experiments and applications. At least the best 50 submissions in each age category will win a Raspberry Pi computer and an Astro Pi board on which to code their idea. In phase 2, all teams will develop code based on their original concept and two winning teams will be selected in each age category. The winning teams’ code will be readied for flight by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and CGI.

As well as having their code uploaded to the ISS, all winning teams will each receive a class set of Raspberry Pi and Astro Pi boards, meet the Astro Pi team and participate in a winners event during Tim’s flight.

In addition to the main prizes, each of the UK space companies supporting the project have offered a prize. These prizes will be awarded to the best submission associated with each of the themes, across the age ranges.

Major Tim Peake KG5BVI

Major Tim Peake KG5BVI

ESERO-UK and Raspberry Pi are developing a comprehensive suite of teaching resources to link to the curriculum and assist teachers of STEM subjects in engaging their students in the competition. As well as explaining how to use and write code for the Astro Pi and its sensors, the resources will provide a context for the Astro Pi in the curriculum and link to teaching subjects and areas.

The first two resources of the series are available now in the National STEM Centre eLibrary and the rest will follow.

Launching the Astro Pi computers, and consequently the successful implementation and completion of this competition is subject to nominal progress through the ESA integration programme and operations on-board the ISS.

BBC TV News: Astronaut Tim Peake KG5BVI invites Raspberry Pi challenge
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30415207

Astro Pi: Your code in space http://astro-pi.org/

Source: UK Space Agency press release https://www.gov.uk/government/news/send-your-computer-code-into-space-with-astronaut-tim-peake

Dec 10 2014

UK Licence Review Discussion Forum

Ofcom-logo-col-tOfcom has now published a statement on the revised Amateur Radio Licence and has also advised that there will be ‘Guidance’ to accompany the licence.

The RSGB has now opened a forum to provide the opportunity to discuss what information would be helpful in that Guidance document.

There may also be questions about implementation of the new license that members wish to be clarified.

The forum is open for your posts at http://forums.thersgb.org/implementation and the original main page at http://rsgb.org/licencereview has similarly been updated with the links for the forum and statement.

The forum is the same system as used before (and includes other forums for EMC and Propagation matters), so previous users will not need to re-register.

Regards
Murray G6JYB, Spectrum Chair

Anyone, RSGB member or not, can contribute to the discussion on the forum. When you register on the site there is a question at the bottom which says: Verification: Who issues amateur radio licences in the UK? – The answer is Ofcom

RSGB Licence Review Forum
http://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/gb2rs/headlines/2014/12/10/new-licence-review-forum-open/

Ofcom Amateur Radio Licence Statement
https://amsat-uk.org/2014/12/05/ofcom-amateur-radio-licence-statement/