Tag Archives: satellite

May 28 2012

Beta Version of SimpleSat Software Available

The SimpleSat Look Down program is designed for demonstrating satellite operation. It is also useful in educational environments. It is designed for ease of use and is not a full featured tracking program like the very capable SatPC32.

Tom Doyle W9KE wrote it as a Windows 8 Metro application so the Windows 7 version has the look and feel of a Metro app. It also runs on Windows XP but your results may vary.

Tom has produced this demonstration video of the software.

Watch – SimpleSat Look Down – best viewed full screen HD

Download SimpleSat Look Down from http://www.tomdoyle.org/SimpleSatLookDown/

May 27 2012

Video of VO-52 Downlink Over Europe

Dimitrios Pallis SW1JGW has made available a video of the downlink of the amateur radio satellite VO-52 over Europe on May 27, 2012.

Among the stations heard in the downlink is Domenico I8CVS. His interest in satellites first started in 1960 when he built a VHF converter and yagi antenna to succesfully receive the 108.000 and 108.030 MHz beacons from the passive communication satellites ECHO-I and ECHO-II.

Dimitrios SW1JGW made the recording with a G59 SDR and Ten Tec 1012 Transverter.

Watch VO52 27/05/2012 Recording with Genesis G59 SDR

VO-52 frequencies (note transponder is inverting, transmit LSB on 435 to get USB on 145 downlink):
Uplink:         435.2250 – 435.2750 MHz SSB/CW
Downlink:     145.9250 – 145.8750 MHz SSB/CW
Beacon:       145.8600 MHz CW

How to work the SSB amateur radio satellites such as VO-52 http://www.uk.amsat.org/2712

John Heath G7HIA wrote about operating through VO-52 in his article ‘Getting started on amateur radio satellites’ that was published by the Radio Society of Great Britain in the March 2007 edition of RadCom. Download the article at https://amsat-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/satellites_radcom_mar07.pdf
Copyright 2007 Radio Society of Great Britain. For personal use only – no copying, reprinting or distribution without written permission from the RSGB.

David A Palmer, KB5WIA, has written an article “Twins!  A Backpack-Portable Full Duplex Satellite Station with Dual FT-817ND’s” that can be seen at http://kb5wia.blogspot.com/2010/10/satellite-portable-station.html

May 25 2012

JAXA's SDS-4: End of Critical Phase Completed

imageThe Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would like to announce that the Small Demonstration Satellite-4 (SDS-4) completed its critical phase operations and moved to the initial phase. The SDS-4 was launched by the H-IIA F21 at 1:39 a.m. on May 18, 2012 (Japan Standard Time) as a secondary payload with the Global Change Observation Satellite 1st – Water “SHIZUKU” (GCOM-1.)

The satellite is currently in good health.

The initial functional verification operations will continue for about one month.

For the satellite condition, please refer to the following website.
http://www.ard.jaxa.jp/research/jissyou/sds4/sds4-index.html

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May 25 2012

JAXA’s SDS-4: End of Critical Phase Completed

imageThe Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) would like to announce that the Small Demonstration Satellite-4 (SDS-4) completed its critical phase operations and moved to the initial phase. The SDS-4 was launched by the H-IIA F21 at 1:39 a.m. on May 18, 2012 (Japan Standard Time) as a secondary payload with the Global Change Observation Satellite 1st – Water “SHIZUKU” (GCOM-1.)

The satellite is currently in good health.

The initial functional verification operations will continue for about one month.

For the satellite condition, please refer to the following website.
http://www.ard.jaxa.jp/research/jissyou/sds4/sds4-index.html

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.

May 24 2012

TEDxKhartoum Presentation on KN-SAT1 CubeSat

KN-SAT1 Students at ST2UOK Khartoum

KN-SAT1 Students at ST2UOK Khartoum

Abubakr S. Eltayeb ST2AB is an Electrical Engineer specializing in communications systems. He is currently a member of the Cube Satellite Project which belongs to the Faculty of Engineering at University of Khartoum.

The team includes his colleagues Hala M. Othman, Mustafa Atta Mohamed and Yasir M. Osman ST2YM, and together they constructed the first satellite in Sudan with the help of Dr. Tahani Abdalla, their project manager and Dr. Nader Abdelhameed, the team manager. They designed, tested and experimentally launched a fully functional Cube Satellite prototype named KN-SAT1.

The team is now developing the Flight Model of the KN-SAT1, in preparation for its launch into outer space.

This TEDxKhartoum presentation is not in English, however, the segment from 09:12 until 13:25 contains video showing the development of the KN-SAT1 CubeSat including a test of the deployment of the antennas.

Watch TEDxKhartoum 2012: Abubakr S. Eltayeb, A Sudanese Satellite

Khartoum Amateur Radio Satellite Ground Station http://www.uk.amsat.org/4316

KN-Sat1 http://cubesat.uofk.edu/

Sudanese Amateur Radio and SWL History http://www.st2nh.com/sudanamateurradioandswlhistory

May 23 2012

AMSAT Demonstration Station at 2012 Dayton Hamvention

The AMSAT demonstration station at the 2012 Dayton Hamvention in Ohio (grid EM79ut) working the SSB/CW satellite VO-52 on Friday, May 18, 2012. This video starts at approximately 1418 UTC (10.18am EDT) on a pass to the west that covered much of North America.

Working the microphone is Keith Pugh W5IU. Assisting Keith is Doug Papay KD8CAO, and Roger Ley WA9PZL is taking care of the antenna. Keith’s equipment is used for the demonstration station – two Yaesu FT-817s, two homebrew antennas (3-element 2m Yagi, 6-element 70cm Yagi), and a laptop running SatPC32 to control the radios. The radios and laptop are powered from a large 12V battery.

As the video starts, Keith is working Angelo N5UXT in New Orleans, Louisiana. Other stations are heard later in the video, as the satellite is moving away and toward the horizon.

This video was recorded by Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK/VA7EWK using a Sony DSC-H70 camera at 720p.

See a video by Simon 2E0HTS describing how to work the SSB amateur radio satellites such as VO-52 http://www.uk.amsat.org/2712

John Heath G7HIA wrote about operating through VO-52 in his article ‘Getting started on amateur radio satellites’ that was published by the Radio Society of Great Britain in the March 2007 edition of RadCom. Download the article at https://amsat-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/satellites_radcom_mar07.pdf
Copyright 2007 Radio Society of Great Britain. For personal use only – no copying, reprinting or distribution without written permission from the RSGB.