First picture from FITSAT-1 on 5840.0 MHz showing the solar panels on the ISS
When the FITSAT-1 CubeSat was deployed from the International Space Station on October 4 it took a picture using the on-board camera. On Friday, October 19 UT, the team successfully downloaded the picture using the high-speed 115.2 kbps data transmitter on 5840.0 MHz.
Space Tech Garage – Image Credit Synergy Moon
Radio amateur Gerard Auvray, F6FAO, is a member of the Synergy Moon team that aims to develop and land a rover on the moon.
Synergy Moon are currently building a communications and mission control infrastructure, starting with a NanoSat that will test some of the communications and rover hardware.
The October issue of the free publication SatMagazine has articles on the Aeneas and Firefly CubeSats as well as a Builder’s Guide To Inexpensive Space Access.
In this issue:
Page 16 – Aeneas CubeSat
Page 40 – Satellite Networks For Education
Page 56 – Firefly CubeSat
Page 60 – A Builder’s Guide To Inexpensive Space Access By Randa Relich Milliron, CEO, Interorbital Systems
Download the October 2012 SatMagazine at http://www.satmagazine.com/2012/SM_Oct2012.pdf
SatMagazine http://www.satmagazine.com/
FITSAT-1 plans to use LED’s to signal in Morse code
The amateur radio CubeSat FITSAT-1 (aka NIWAKA) carries an Optical Communications experiment that aims to write Morse Code across the night sky. The satellite is fitted with a bank of high power LEDs that will be driven with 200W pulses to produce extremely bright flashes that may be visible to the unaided eye.
FITSAT-1 was deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) at 15:44 UT on Thursday, October 4 along with F-1 and TechEdSat.
On Sunday, October 7 Takushi Tanaka JA6AVG provided this update:
We have received a lot of signal and telemetry reports from amsat members. All reports show FITSAT-1 starts working and sound. Thank you very much for your help.
We will examine movements, temperatures, and battery states of FITSAT-1 during these 10 days, and start experiments of 5.8GHz transmission and flashing LEDs.
I will announce the experiments on my web-page http://www.fit.ac.jp/~tanaka/fitsat.shtml
As well as 437.250 MHz and 437.445 MHz (both +/- 10 kHz Doppler) this innovative satellite can also transmit on 5840.0 MHz (+/- 134 kHz Doppler).
Original design of the Euroluna Romit3 Lunar Rover – Image courtesy of Andrew Collis/X-Prize Foundation
The President of Euroluna, Palle Haastrup OZ1HIA, provides an update on the progress of the Euroluna Google Lunar X-Prize team who are aiming to land a rover on the Moon.
Their first amateur radio spacecraft Romit-1 is a 2U CubeSat that will transmit on 437.505 MHz using 1200 bps AX.25 packet radio. It will be fitted with an Ion Motor and if everything goes well it should, after a year, be able to raise its orbit from 310 km to 700 km.
AMSAT-UK is a non-profit volunteer organisation for those interested in amateur radio space communications.
AMSAT-UK produces a quarterly newsletter OSCAR News and its members are involved in designing, building and operating amateur radio satellites.
Membership is open to anyone who has an interest in amateur radio satellites or space activities, including the International Space Station (ISS).
The Membership year lasts for 12 months starting on January 1 each year.
If you join after July 31 of any particular year, then you will receive complimentary membership for the whole of the following year, i.e. join on Oct 3, 2012, and you have nothing to pay until Dec 31, 2013.
Now is a very good time to join.
There are two rates:
UK
Rest of the World (Overseas)
These separate rates go to offset the extra postage costs involved in mailing our quarterly publication, “Oscar News”, to different parts of the World. Sample copy at http://www.amsat-uk.org/on_193_final.pdf
Join AMSAT-UK using PayPal, Debit or Credit card at
http://shop.amsat.org.uk/shop/category_9/Join-Amsat-UK.html
AMSAT-UK 
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