Tag Archives: Nanosat

May 28 2012

STRaND-2 ‘Kinect’ Satellites Video

STRaND-2 NanosatsSTRaND-2, a twin nanosatellite mission from SSTL and the University of Surrey to test a novel in-orbit docking system using a gridded Lidar system based on the Microsoft Xbox Kinect games-controller technology.

Similar in design to STRaND-1, the identical twin satellites will each measure 30cm (3 unit Cubesat) in length, and utilise components from the Xbox Kinect games controller to scan the local area and provide the satellites with spatial awareness on all three axes – thus allowing them to dock.

The STRaND team sees the relatively low cost nanosatellites as intelligent “space building blocks” that could be stacked together and reconfigured to build larger modular spacecraft.

Watch STRaND-2 Docking Nanosatellite.wmv

STRaND stands for Surrey Training, Research and Nanosatellite Demonstration and the programme is intended to be a long-term arrangement between the space company SSTL and academic researchers at the Surrey Space Centre (SSC), with STRaND-1 the first of a long line of STRaND nanosatellites.

The SSTL employees involved with the STRaND programme are volunteers. It is a condition of the programme that volunteers from SSTL and SSC use their own, free time for STRaND activities (such as lunches and breaks). The project has no budget for staff so is entirely dependent on volunteers.

Further information at http://www.sstl.co.uk/divisions/earth-observation—science/science—exploration/strand-2-building-blocks-nanosatellite

‘Kinect’ STRaND-2 at UK Space Agency Conference http://www.uk.amsat.org/6795

Surrey Satellite to put Xbox parts in space http://www.uk.amsat.org/7771

The Register article http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/05/28/sstl_strand_2_nanosat_xbox_kinect/

Thinking outside the box in space by BBC Science correspondent Jonathan Amos http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18250755

STRaND on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nanosats

May 28 2012

STRaND-2 ‘Kinect’ Satellites Video

STRaND-2, a twin nanosatellite mission from SSTL and the University of Surrey to test a novel in-orbit docking system using a gridded Lidar system based on the Microsoft Xbox Kinect games-controller technology.

Similar in design to STRaND-1, the identical twin satellites will each measure 30cm (3 unit Cubesat) in length, and utilise components from the Xbox Kinect games controller to scan the local area and provide the satellites with spatial awareness on all three axes – thus allowing them to dock.

The STRaND team sees the relatively low cost nanosatellites as intelligent “space building blocks” that could be stacked together and reconfigured to build larger modular spacecraft.

Watch STRaND-2 Docking Nanosatellite.wmv

STRaND stands for Surrey Training, Research and Nanosatellite Demonstration and the programme is intended to be a long-term arrangement between the space company SSTL and academic researchers at the Surrey Space Centre (SSC), with STRaND-1 the first of a long line of STRaND nanosatellites.

The SSTL employees involved with the STRaND programme are volunteers. It is a condition of the programme that volunteers from SSTL and SSC use their own, free time for STRaND activities (such as lunches and breaks). The project has no budget for staff so is entirely dependent on volunteers.

Further information at http://www.sstl.co.uk/divisions/earth-observation—science/science—exploration/strand-2-building-blocks-nanosatellite

‘Kinect’ STRaND-2 at UK Space Agency Conference http://www.uk.amsat.org/6795

Surrey Satellite to put Xbox parts in space http://www.uk.amsat.org/7771

The Register article http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/05/28/sstl_strand_2_nanosat_xbox_kinect/

Thinking outside the box in space by BBC Science correspondent Jonathan Amos http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18250755

STRaND on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/nanosats

May 28 2012

International Space Colloquium – Second Call For Speakers

Holiday Inn Guildford GU2 7XZ

Holiday Inn Guildford GU2 7XZ

This is the second call for speakers for the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium which, due to the Olympic & Paralympic Games, will be held this year on the weekend of September 15-16, 2012 at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, United Kingdom.

This Colloquium will take place before the planned launch of AMSAT-UK’s Cubesat FUNcube-1 designed to encourage young people to learn about radio, space, physics and electronics. It contains a 1200 bps BPSK telemetry beacon and a 435/145 MHz linear transponder.

AMSAT-UK invites speakers, to cover topics about micro-satellites, CubeSats, Nanosats, space and associated activities, for this event.

They are also invited to submit papers for subsequent publishing on the AMSAT-UK web site. We normally prefer authors to present talks themselves rather than having someone else give them in the authors’ absence. We also welcome “unpresented” papers for the web site.

We appreciate that it is not always possible to give a firm indication of attendance at this stage but expressions of interest would be appreciated.

Submissions should be sent ONLY to David Johnson G4DPZ, via the following routes:

e-mail: david dot johnson at blackpepper dot co dot uk

Postal address at http://www.qrz.com/db/G4DPZ

AMSAT-UK also invite anyone with requests for Program Topics to submit them as soon as possible to David Johnson G4DPZ.

Invitations for any papers on specific subjects will be included in the future call. Likewise if anyone knows of a good speaker, please send contact and other information to David Johnson G4DPZ.

AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium 2012 http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium/twelve

Booking http://shop.amsat.org.uk/shop/category_10/Colloquium-2012-Fri-14-Sep-to-Sun-16-Sep.html

May 16 2012

Live Coverage of HORYU-II Launch May 17

Amateur Radio Satellite HORYU-2

The launch of amateur radio satellite HORYU-2 on Thursday, May 17 at 1639 UT will be broadcast live on the Internet. On the same launch will be the JAXA climate observation satellite SHIZUKU (GCOM-W).

The launch broadcast will commence at 1610 UT and can be seen at http://www.jaxa.jp/countdown/f21/live/index_e.html

Built by students at the Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) HORYU-2 is 350 * 310 * 315 mm and mass is 7.1 kg. It will be launched into a Sun-Synchronous 680 km orbit with an inclination of 98.2°.

The satellite’s callsign is JG6YBW and radio amateurs are asked to listen for the 437.375 MHz  (+/- 9 kHz Doppler shift) telemetry downlink that will be using 20 wpm Morse Code or 1200 bps AX.25 FSK packet radio. Details of the telemetry format are available here.

There will be a monthly competition for radio amateurs and listeners who send data received from the telemetry to the KIT server, via the HORYU-2 telemetry analysis software, details here.

The HORYU-2 telemetry software can be downloaded from here and an explanation of the software is here.

Keplerian Two Line Elements (TLEs / KEPS) for new satellites launched in past 30 days
http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/tle-new.txt

Amateur satellite Keplerian Two Line Elements (TLEs / KEPS) http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/amateur.txt

Among the experiments to be carried out on HORYU-2 are:

HORYU-2 discharge suppression solar cell side

300V power generation in LEO
In recent years, satellite size and power keep increasing. For large space platforms such as a space station, it is necessary to generate and transmit the power at a high voltage to minimize the Joule heating loss or the increase in the cable mass. It has been known that in LEO a solar array with a negative potential of 100 to 200V with respect to the plasma can suffer electrostatic discharge. Because of this, ISS power system was limited to 160V generation and 120V transmission. Generally speaking the transmission power is proportional to the square of the voltage. For a large space platform which requires 1MW-class power, such as a space hotel or a space factory, power generation at a voltage of 300 to 400V is required. The present HORYU-2 mission, 300V power generation in space without any discharge, is the first space environment test of the new technology that will be strongly demanded in near future. Also, as the satellite power employs higher voltage, there will be more demand for spacecraft charging mitigation.

Horyu-2 Structural Thermal Model

Horyu-2 Structural Thermal Model

Demonstration of COTS surface potential meter in space (Trek)
This mission demonstrates a surface potential meter in space. The potential meter has been developed by TREK, Inc. aiming for terrestrial commercial application. It is a contact type potential meter with extremely large input impedance so that the contact does not affect the charging state of the specimen. KIT is currently working with TREK, Inc. to convert the potential meter for extreme environments such as space or plasma processing chamber. The in-orbit demonstration is a part of the joint research program. To put the COTS device on HORYU-2, the electronics board and the consumed power have been reduced significantly.

When HORYU-2 passes through the aurora zone, differential charging may develop between the insulator surface and the satellite chassis. The potential meter will measure the potential of the insulator that is the same material to be used for SCM. The two measurements are compared to validate against each other.

Debris observation with debris sensor
This mission aims at detecting the micro-debris impact on the surface of HORYU-2. Space debris has become a serious threat to satellites in orbit. Observation of micro debris less than 1mm has been very difficult. The debris sensor consists of many conductive thin wired laid down in parallel in the area of 8×8 cm. Upon impact, some of the lines are cut and the resistance becomes infinite.

Taking photographs of the Earth
HORYU-2 aims to take pictures of the Earth using a small CMOS camera. The camera is called SCAMP (Surrey Camera Payload) and was developed by the University of Surrey, a sister university of KIT. SCAMP takes a JPEG format picture of 640×480 pixels. From 700km altitude, one pixel corresponds to 1.6km.

HORYU-2 Launch Information http://kitsat.ele.kyutech.ac.jp/Documents/information_launch_english.html

English language version of HORYU website http://kitsat.ele.kyutech.ac.jp/index_e_new.html

Japanese HORYU website in Google English http://tinyurl.com/HoryuSatellite

KIT HORYU Blog in Google English http://tinyurl.com/HORYU-Blog

Development of High Voltage Technology Demonstration Satellite, HORYU-2
http://kitsat.ele.kyutech.ac.jp/Documents/Nano-satellite-symposium-Final-paper_nishimura.pdf

KIT HORYU-2 Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/277436165678985/

HORYU-2 Japanese Operating Schedule http://tinyurl.com/HORYU-2-Schedule

HORYU-2 Telemetry Competition http://www.uk.amsat.org/7474

HORYU-2 CW Telemetry Decoder by DK3WN http://tinyurl.com/SatSoftwareDK3WN/

SimpleSatLookDown satellite tracking software http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=8217

MixW http://mixw.net/

UZ7HO Packet Radio Soundmodem http://wa8lmf.net/miscinfo

AGWPE Soundcard packet download page http://www.sv2agw.com/downloads/

Sound Card Packet Guide by Ralph Milnes KC2RLM
http://www.kc2rlm.info/soundcardpacket/

Sound card Interface http://www.southgatearc.org/articles/g0ftd/data_dummy_interface.htm

UISS Windows AX.25 Packet Software http://users.belgacom.net/hamradio/uiss.htm

DK3WN satellite decode software http://tinyurl.com/SatSoftwareDK3WN/

Apr 29 2012

Delfi-C3 (DO-64) – 4 years in orbit

Delfi-C3_DO-64_Team

Delfi-C3 (DO-64) Team at the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium 2008 in Guildford

On April 28, 2012 the nanosatellite Delfi-C3 (DO-64) celebrated 4 years in orbit and is still alive and kicking!

This 3-unit CubeSat, developed by the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands has been largely developed by students and performed technology demonstration experiments for the space industry in the Netherlands. After being launched on PSLV-C9 in 2008 it has been circling the earth for 1461 days (exceeding its design lifetime with 1371 days)!

The satellite still broadcasts its telemetry and measurement data which can be received using simple amateur radio equipment and using the RASCAL software (available on the Delfi website: http://www.delfispace.nl/index.php/participation/radio-amateur-participation).

The satellite project was also the birthplace of ISIS – Innovative Solutions In Space as the company’s founders and a significant number of its employees have worked on the satellite project at the start of their careers. We congratulate the university with the milestone and excellent demonstration that well coordinated student satellite projects can produce great results and exceed all expectations.

Regards,
Jeroen Rotteveel

Apr 24 2012

Innovative nanosat will test space software

Designing Ops-Sat at ESA's Concurrent Design Facility

Designing Ops-Sat at ESA's Concurrent Design Facility

A new ESA nanosat aiming for a 2015 launch plans to provide a platform to test software in space.

Space software rarely runs the latest operating systems, languages or interfaces. It is selected for its proven, rock-solid reliability rather than its use of the latest and newest programming technologies. For example ESA is still using the Packet Utilisation Standard to control their satellites, which was defined in 1994.

There are many reasons why satellites continue to use decades-old, tried-and-trusted software based on older technical standards. It’s not because satellite designers and builders aren’t innovative. On the contrary, some of the best ideas in software development come from the space industry.

“However, with mission-critical software, there’s a lot of risk-aversion, which is very understandable,” says Mario Merri, Head of the Mission Data Systems Division at ESOC.

“No one wants to use new and possibly problematic software on a multi-million-euro mission in space.”

Traditionally, one of the major barriers to providing updated software for use in space has been the lack of opportunities to test new tools, systems and procedures.

It’s difficult and expensive to replicate in-orbit conditions using an Earth-bound simulator, yet this is precisely the tough standard that new space software must meet.

That’s where an innovative nanosatellite design developed at ESA promises to help satellite designers, ground engineers and spacecraft and component manufacturers. Dubbed Ops-Sat, for Operations Satellite, it is specifically designed to allow controlled testing and validation of critical onboard and ground software.

The design calls for a CubeSat configuration, measuring just 30x10x10 cm and costing far less than a traditional scientific or Earth observation satellite.

“The secret behind the Ops-Sat design is that the satellite is easily recoverable from the effects of ‘buggy’ software and we use commercial, off-the-shelf processors to provide increased computing power compared to normal spacecraft,” says Dave.

“We can completely replace the entire onboard software suite with new and fresh code more or less daily, allowing developers to troubleshoot their products in a real but safe environment.”

Ops-Sat has generated considerable interest from European industry, which sees the possibilities for demonstrating new concepts, ideas and products that presently have difficulty breaking into mainstream spacecraft design.

This could accelerate innovation and lower costs in the field of satellite control.

Source ESA