Tag Archives: Kibo Robot Arm

Oct 5 2012

ISS Amateur Radio CubeSats Deployed

Kibo Robot Arm CubeSat Deployment

Kibo Robot Arm CubeSat Deployment – Image Credit JAXA

On October 4, 2012 five CubeSats were successfully deployed from the International Space Station (ISS). The first pod containing RAIKO and WE-WISH was deployed at 1437 UT while the second pod containing FITSAT-1, F-1 and TechEdSat deployed at 1544 UT. Pictures can be seen at http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=10804

October 4 was also the 55th anniversary of the launch of the first satellite Sputnik 1. Videos of Sputnik are here.

Four of the CubeSats carry Amateur Radio payloads, they are TechEdSat, F-1, FITSAT-1, and WE-WISH. As of Oct 5, 1015 UT signals had been reported from WE-WISH and FITSAT-1 as well as weak signal reports for TechEdSat.

ISS CubeSat Frequency Chart – Image Credit Mike Rupprecht DK3WN

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Jun 12 2012

F-1 CubeSat is scheduled for launch in July, 2012

Latest update on F-1 CubeSat project:

At the moment, the flight safety review is coming to an end. The FSpace team together with their partner NanoRacks LLC has satisfied the technical requirements and standards set by the launch vehicle provider.

If everything goes according to plan, the F-1 CubeSat will be delivered to Japan by the end of June. Then along with four other CubeSats (RAIKO, WE-WISH, FITSAT-1 and TechEdSat) F-1 will be loaded onboard HTV-3 “Kounotori” transfer vehicle for integration with the JAXA HII-B launch vehicle.

F-1 plans to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on July 21 from Tanegashima, Japan, then in September the Japanese astronaut and radio amateur Akihiko Hoshide KE5DNI should deploy it into space from the ISS using the Kibo robot arm.

It carries two Yaesu VX-3R transceivers using 145.980 and 437.485 MHz.

The FSpace team are offering the public a chance to send their name/callsign and a message into space onboard the F-1 CubeSat. You will also be presented with a certificate! See this link http://fspace.edu.vn/?page_id=31

JAXA http://iss.jaxa.jp/kibo/about/jssod/ Google English http://tinyurl.com/7x79o6p

FSpace http://fspace.edu.vn/

Vietnam Student CubeSat F-1 http://www.uk.amsat.org/5025

Video of HTV-3 “Kounotori” and CubeSat Deployer http://www.uk.amsat.org/8078

F-1 CubeSat Students

Jun 8 2012

Video of HTV-3 Spacecraft and CubeSat Deployer

Kibo Robot Arm CubeSat Deployment

The Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle “KOUNOTORI” (HTV) is an unmanned transfer vehicle which can carry amateur radio CubeSats along with food, clothes and equipment needed for experiments in the International Space Station (ISS).

“KOUNOTORI 3” (HTV-3) is planned to launch on July 21, 2012 from Tanegashima Space Center and will be carrying four amateur radio CubeSats WE-WISH, FITSAT-1, F-1, and TechEdSat along with the CubeSat Raiko which carries a beacon in KU-Band.

This video, produced by the Japanese Space Agency JAXA, gives an overview of the HTV-3 and its payloads. At  3:56 into the video there is a segment on the JEM-Small Satellite Orbital Deployer  (J-SSOD) that Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide KE5DNI will use to deploy the CubeSats from the ISS. The Software Defined Radio gets a mention at 7:34.

Watch KOUNOTORI3 (HTV3) – Third Expedition to Space at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uxRbANmxik

Jun 8 2012

FITSAT-1 to Write Morse Code Across The Night Sky

FITSAT-1 plans to use LED’s to signal in Morse code

The Amateur Radio CubeSat FITSAT-1 will carry an Optical Communications experiment that aims to write Morse Code across the night sky.

Kibo Robot Arm CubeSat Deployment

Kibo Robot Arm CubeSat Deployment

This innovative satellite also plans to transmit 115.2 kbps digital data in the Amateur Satellite Service 5.8 GHz band using a transmitter capable of 2 watts output.

FITSAT-1 (aka NIWAKA) is a 1U CubeSat (10*10*10cm) developed by students at the Fukuoka Institute of Technology (FIT).

In July 2012 it should be carried to the International Space Station (ISS) in the HTV-3 cargo vessel.  FITSAT-1 will then be deployed from the ISS around September by Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide KE5DNI using the Kibo robot arm.

The main mission will be to demonstrate high speed data transfer from a satellite, it can transmit a VGA-size (640×480 pixel) JPEG photograph in only 5 to 6 seconds.

Takushi Tanaka JA6AVG and FITSAT

Takushi Tanaka JA6AVG and FITSAT

The second mission is to determine if a satellite can be made to appear as an “artificial star” using high-output LEDs in flash mode. The light from this flash will be received by the ground station, which has a telescope with photo-multiplier linked to a 5.8GHz parabola antenna. This is a basic experiment to investigate the possibility of optical communication with satellites.

A UHF AX25 1k2baud transceiver will be carried for telemetry and telecommand purposes and a UHF CW beacon will also be provided. It will be deployed along with the satellites RAIKO and WE-WISH, F-1 and TechEdSat into a 350x350km 51.6deg inclination orbit.

The following downlink frequencies have been coordinated by the IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel: CW 437.250 MHz, FM 437.445 MHz, High speed data 5840.00 MHz.

FITSAT-1 information, pictures and deployment movie http://www.fit.ac.jp/~tanaka/fitsat.shtml

Kibo Robot Arm http://kibo.jaxa.jp/en/about/kibo/rms/

IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel pages hosted by AMSAT-UK http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/

Feb 24 2012

TechEdSat to use 'SatPhone'

TechEdSat

TechEdSat

TechEdSat will be deployed from the International Space Station (ISS). It is a 1U CubeSat that will demonstrate Plug and Play power architecture and two way communication via the satellite phone/data networks Iridium and Orbcomm.

UPDATE: The plan to transmit from space using frequencies allocated to Iridium and Orbcomm SatPhone ground stations has been canceled. A statement from the team says: “We were forced to disable the Iridium modem as our FCC license did not come in time. As usual, building the satellite is the easy part.”

There will be a 437.465 MHz beacon transmitting 1 watt to 1/4 wave monopole. Commanding is via the commercial networks and there is a 2 week watchdog timer to stop the beacon in the event of no commands being received.

TechEdSat will be launched along with Raiko, FITSat-1, We-Wish and F-1 to the ISS aboard HTV-3, currently planned to launch July 18, 2012. From there, it will be deployed into Low Earth Orbit  using the JAXA J-SSOD deployer, from the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM also known as Kibo).

Wiki – TechEdSat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TechEdSat

Kibo Robot Arm http://kibo.jaxa.jp/en/about/kibo/rms/

ISS Amateur Radio CubeSat Deployment October 4 http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=10119

Watch the deployment live at http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv

IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination pages hosted by AMSAT-UK http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru

Feb 24 2012

TechEdSat to use ‘SatPhone’

TechEdSat

TechEdSat

TechEdSat will be deployed from the International Space Station (ISS). It is a 1U CubeSat that will demonstrate Plug and Play power architecture and two way communication via the satellite phone/data networks Iridium and Orbcomm.

UPDATE: The plan to transmit from space using frequencies allocated to Iridium and Orbcomm SatPhone ground stations has been canceled. A statement from the team says: “We were forced to disable the Iridium modem as our FCC license did not come in time. As usual, building the satellite is the easy part.”

There will be a 437.465 MHz beacon transmitting 1 watt to 1/4 wave monopole. Commanding is via the commercial networks and there is a 2 week watchdog timer to stop the beacon in the event of no commands being received.

TechEdSat will be launched along with Raiko, FITSat-1, We-Wish and F-1 to the ISS aboard HTV-3, currently planned to launch July 18, 2012. From there, it will be deployed into Low Earth Orbit  using the JAXA J-SSOD deployer, from the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM also known as Kibo).

Wiki – TechEdSat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TechEdSat

Kibo Robot Arm http://kibo.jaxa.jp/en/about/kibo/rms/

ISS Amateur Radio CubeSat Deployment October 4 http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=10119

Watch the deployment live at http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv

IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination pages hosted by AMSAT-UK http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru