Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG reports on the two QB50 precursor satellites QB50p1 and QB50p2, launched on June 19, 2014 carrying amateur radio transponders.
The QB50 precursor satellites are in good health and still being commissioned. These satellites are part of a risk-reduction program for the QB50 main mission.
These satellites are also carrying amateur radio transponders:
– QB50p1 carries the FUNcube-3 transponder system by AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL
– QB50p2 carries an FM transponder by AMSAT-Francophone
I am grateful to be able to announce that these two CubeSat Satellites have been awarded OSCAR numbers by AMSAT-NA: QB50p1 shall be known as European OSCAR 79 or EO-79, and QB50p2 shall be known as European OSCAR 80 or EO-80. Thank you AMSAT-NA!
The transponders are expected to be switched on after the main mission, which lasts about 6 months depending on progress made.
Details about sending in reports and decoding the beacons can be found on the ISIS Ham Radio page at http://isispace.nl/HAM/qb50p.html
Mike Rupprecht DK3WN has kindly made and published a software decoder based on the published formats at his website: http://tinyurl.com/SatSoftwareDK3WN/
Thanks all for your support and reports, they are much appreciated!
On Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 19:11:11 UT a Dnepr rocket was launched from Dombarovsky near Yasny in the Russian Federation, 12 of the satellites on-board carried amateur radio payloads.
In total 33 satellites were deployed from the Dnepr on June 19. One of those satellites UniSat-6 carried four smaller satellites, Tigrisat, Lemur 1, ANTELSat and AeroCube 6, which it deployed on June 20. On June 23, AeroCube 6 split into two separate satellites bringing the total of deployed satellites to 38.
Satellites launched June 19, 2012 on the Yasny Dnepr
Among the amateur radio payloads are a SSB/CW linear transponder, FM voice transponder, D-STAR Parrot Repeater, three Packet Radio Digipeaters and APRS.
In the hours immediately after launch signals were reported from POPSAT, QB50p1, QB50p2, UniSat-6, BugSat-1, NanosatC-BR1, Duchifat-1, TabletSat-Aurora and DTUsat-2.
The two QB50 precursor Cubesats on the launch carry amateur radio transponders. They were deployed at 19:32 UT and CW signals from both were received shortly after by Andre Van Deventer ZS2BK in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Brian Best ZS5SB and Leon Steenkamp ZS1HD also reported receiving signals.
The FUNcube team send their thank to the stations in South Africa who received the first signals and also to the ISIS teams both at the launch site and at their HQ in Delft. A job very well done!
QB50p1 carries the FUNcube-3 400 mW inverting linear 435/145 MHz transponder provided by AMSAT-NL with support from AMSAT-UK.
• 145.815 MHz BPSK telemetry
• Transponder
– 435.035-435.065 MHz Uplink LSB
– 145.935-145.965 MHz Downlink USB
QB50p2 carries a 435/145 MHz FM transponder and FX25 data transmitter from AMSAT-F.
• 145.880 MHz BPSK telemetry
• 145.840 MHz 9600 bps FSK FX25
It is expected that both these transponder payloads will be activated after the science missions have been completed.
Dnepr Satellite Frequencies June 19, 2014 – Credit Mike Rupprecht DK3WN
The FUNcube team anticipate that the Dnepr launch of the amateur radio FUNcube-3 payload on the QB50p1 CubeSat will take place as previously stated.
This Thursday is the day!
To be precise, lift off is expected to take place from Yasny on June 19, 2014 at 19:11:11 UT and the deployment of the various payloads will take place over the Indian Ocean in a similar fashion to the launch of FUNcube-1 last November.
Dnepr Space Head Module – Image credit Gauss Team
Pre-launch Keplerian elements / Two-Line Elements (TLEs) can be seen below. The details of the initial 145 MHz CW transmission format for both QB50p1, and its near twin QB50p2, is at http://www.isispace.nl/HAM/qb50p.html
QB50p1 carries an inverting linear UV transponder with 400 mW output provided by AMSAT-NL and which is similar to that on FUNcube-1.
• 145.815 MHz BPSK telemetry
• FUNcube inverting 400 mW SSB/CW transponder
– 435.035-435.065 MHz Uplink LSB
– 145.935-145.965 MHz Downlink USB
QB50p2 carries an UV FM transponder and FX25 data transmitter from AMSAT-F. It is expected that these payloads will be activated after the science missions have been completed.
• 145.880 MHz BPSK telemetry
• 145.840 MHz 9600 bps FSK FX25
Launch Time: 19:11:11 UT
Separation of Platform A: 19:27:07 UT
Separation of QB50p1: 19:32:07 UT
Separation of QB50p2: 19:32:27 UT
1st pass over Delft/VKI: 20:46:46 UT
UKube-1 on display at UK Space Conference in Glasgow
The FUNcube team have received confirmation that UKube-1, which is hosting the FUNcube-2 payload, remains scheduled for a Soyuz launch on June 19. The team do not, as yet, have any lift-off times or TLE’s for this launch but we will make these available as soon as possible.
It is believed that, immediately after deployment and activation, UKube-1 will commence transmitting a CW beacon and that this will be later followed by an AX25, 1k2 BPSK beacon. Both beacons will be on 145.840 MHz. The FUNcube-2 payload, with its telemetry downlink for educational outreach, is expected to be tested later.
FUNcube-3 is the transponder only payload on the QB50 precursor CubeSat “QB50P1″. This mission is currently scheduled to launch “Not earlier than the second half of June” , on a Dnepr LV from Yasny. The initial beacon signals, from the main transceiver, are also expected to be AX25, 1k2 BPSK packets on 145.815 MHz. Again more information will be provided as soon as it becomes available.
The QB50 project has reached another crucial milestone. The first two QB50 satellites have been delivered for shipment to the launch site after a successful flight acceptance test campaign. The satellites will form the QB50 Precursor mission that seeks to de-risk and validate key technologies of the QB50 main flight that will be performed in the coming years.
The launch is planned for June 19, 2014 from the Russian ICBM base at Dombarovsky near Yasny on a Dnepr rocket manufactured in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. The satellites will be put into a 650 km Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
A Dnepr Launch – Credit ISC Kosmotras
The following payloads were integrated into the ISIS satellite platforms:
QB50p1
• INMS Payload from MSSL, UK
• QB50 ADCS system from SSC, UK
• Thermocouple experiment from VKI, Belgium
• AMSAT-NL 435/145 MHz linear transponder (FUNcube-3) from AMSAT-NL, The Netherlands
QB50p2
• FIPEX Payload, University of Dresden, Germany
• QB50 ADCS system from SSC, UK
• Thermocouple experiment from VKI, Belgium
• AMSAT-Fr 435/145 MHz FM voice transponder from AMSAT Francophone, France
QB50p1 (FUNcube-3) has a VHF 9600 bps BPSK telemetry downlink plus a linear U/V transponder similar to that already flying on FUNcube-1 with an output of 400 mW.
• 145.815 MHz 9600 bps BPSK telemetry beacon
• Inverting SSB/CW linear transponder 400 mW PEP
– 435.035 – 435.065 MHz Uplink LSB
– 145.935 – 145.965 MHz Downlink USB
QB50p2 has a VHF 9600 bps BPSK telemetry downlink plus a separate RF payload from AMSAT-Francophone which will comprise of a FM voice transponder with UHF uplink and VHF downlink. It will also transmit FX25 telemetry at 9600 bps.
• 145.880 MHz 9600 bps BPSK telemetry beacon
• 145.840 MHz 9600 bps FSK FX25
QB50p CubeSats
The project was executed to an unprecedented timeline. Formal Kick-Off was in October 2013 and all hardware from the different partners was delivered for integration into the satellites in January 2014. This means that two satellites were delivered in just over 6 months. Furthermore, with a precursor launch scheduled in June, launch and operations will commence within 9 months of project Kick-Off.
This fast-track project shows how successful a close cooperation between academic institutes and experienced companies can be. With ISIS’ experienced team of engineers that design and build nanosatellites on a regular basis (ISIS remains on track to delivering 1 satellite system per month in 2014), throughput times of nanosatellite projects can be shortened significantly.
The upcoming launch of the QB50 precursor satellites will also be the first satellites to be launched that were funded through the EU’s FP7 space technology programme, in which a number of innovative small satellites will be launched in the coming years to demonstrate new European space technologies.
The lessons learned from the QB50 Precursor development and operations have already led to many recommendations to further improve and streamline the QB50 main flight. All teams involved in QB50 stand to benefit from the experiences gained over the last months.
The QB50 project will be launching two precursor 2U CubeSats, QB50p1 and QB50p2, both carrying amateur radio transponder payloads.
The launch is currently planned for June 19 from the Russian ICBM base at Dombarovsky near Yasny on a Dnepr rocket manufactured in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. The satellites will be put into a 650 km Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).
QB50p1 will have a VHF 9600 bps BPSK telemetry downlink plus a separate payload from AMSAT-NL. This will comprise of a linear U/V transponder similar to that already flying on FUNcube-1 with an output of 400 mW.
• 145.815 MHz 9600 bps BPSK telemetry beacon
• Inverting SSB/CW linear transponder 400 mW PEP
– 435.035 – 435.065 MHz Uplink LSB
– 145.935 – 145.965 MHz Downlink USB
QB50p2 will have a VHF 9600 bps BPSK telemetry downlink plus a separate RF payload from AMSAT-F which will comprise of a FM voice transponder with UHF uplink and VHF downlink. It will also transmit FX25 telemetry at 9600 bps.
• 145.880 MHz 9600 bps BPSK telemetry beacon
• 145.840 MHz 9600 bps FSK FX25
It is believed the Dnepr launch from Dombarovsky near Yasny may carry 38 satellites:
Kazakhstan MRES, DEIMOS-2, SkySat-3
Hodoyoshi-3, Hodoyoshi-4 microsatellites http://vimeo.com/82167566
BugSat-1 a 25 kg microsatellite
UniSat-6 microsatellite which will deploy the satellites: Tigrisat, AeroCube6, ANTELSAT, Lemur-1, SaudiSat-4. Serpens was also expected to be carried but Serpens is now manifested on the SpaceX 05 Dragon flight for deployment from the ISS.
CubeSats: TabletSat-Aurora, BRITE-Toronto, BRITE- Montreal, AprizeSat- 9, AprizeSat-10, Duchifat-1, Perseus-M 1, Perseus-M 2, PACE, ANTELSAT, AeroCube 6, DTUSat-2
QuadPack-1 and QuadPack-2 quadruple (4U) CubeSat Deployment Pods will deploy these 2U CubeSats: QB50p1, QB50p2, UNSA-SAT1 (3400 MHz) and ESTELLE
11 Planet Labs Cubesats Flock-1c-1 to Flock-1c-11
AMSAT-UK 
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