Tag Archives: Space

Sep 29 2011

Autumn OSCAR News

The autumn edition of the colour A4 newsletter OSCAR News is being posted to AMSAT-UK members this week

As usual it’s packed with Amateur Satellite articles:

– Haven’t Got A Callsign – regular column by Clive Wallis G3CWV
– Memories of working Astronaut Helen Sharman GB1MIR by Chris Lorek G4HCL
– Louis Varney Cup Presentation to Paul Robinson 2E1EUB
– ARISSat-1 Reception
– USA NTIA WRC proposal for an ITU “Educational” Satellite Service
– ARISSat Update
– FUNcube Testing at RAL
– Syncart geostationary transponder
– Report on First UK National Space Conference 2011
– FUNcube Project Report
– KiwiSAT Current Status
– IARU Region 1 Sun City Report
– 2011 AMSAT-UK Colloquium Report
– QB50 Latest News

To receive this copy of OSCAR News join AMSAT-UK online at
http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK/

If you’ve never seen OSCAR News before you can get an idea of what it’s like by downloading a sample issue from http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf

Sep 22 2011

CubeSat Developers’ Workshop Videos and Slides

Videos and slides from the Summer CubeSat Developers’ Workshop, held August 6-7 at the 25th Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites, are now available for download from
http://cubesat.org/index.php/workshops/past-workshops/2011summerslides

Sep 13 2011

FUNcube Group Membership Exceeds 2000

In under a year the AMSAT-UK FUNcube Yahoo Group has achieved over 2000 members.

The group was created by Rob Styles M0TFO at the end of October 2010 to provide support for the AMSAT-UK FUNcube satellite and the FUNcube Dongle (FCD) Software Defined Radio (SDR).

The FUNcube satellite project is an educational CubeSat project with the goal of enthusing and educating young people about radio, space, physics and electronics. It will support the educational Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) initiatives and provide an additional resource for the RSGB GB4FUN Radio Communications Demonstration Module.

The target audience are school pupils in the 8-18 age range. As well as providing a strong 145 MHz telemetry beacon for the pupils to receive FUNcube will also have a 435/145 MHz linear transponder for Amateur Radio SSB/CW use.

The FCD SDR was originally developed for educational outreach as part of the ground segment for the FUNcube satellite. However, it was realised it can be used for many other applications as well, so AMSAT-UK developed a Pro version which has a frequency range of 64-1700 MHz.

Similar to a USB TV Dongle, the FCD simply fits into a computer USB port and can be used with freely available Software Defined Radio software. The FCD is all-mode which this means that as well as data, it will also receive many other signals including AM, FM, SSB and CW and weather satellite images.

Join the FUNcube Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FUNcube/

SDR-RADIO software http://www.sdr-radio.com/

The FUNcube Dongle SDR can be ordered via http://www.FUNcubeDongle.com/?page_id=286

Information on the FUNcube satellite project is at http://FUNcube.org.uk/overview/

A sample edition of the AMSAT-UK newsletter OSCAR News can be seen at http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf

Sep 11 2011

Edge of Space for Foundation Australian Ham

Australian student and foundation radio amateur Mark Jessop VK5FDRK, who was staying in the United Kingdom, acheived a new record when his balloon reached a height of 40,575 metres. It was launched from Cambridge and carried a 434.650 MHz transmitter, .

Mark VK5FDRK acheived a UK record and was close to the all-time international amateur altitude maximum. He is now returning to Australia and for the Scout Jamboree On The Air (JOTA), October 15-16, he will be involved in the launch of an Amateur Radio repeater up to 30 km, which Scouts around Australia will be able to talk through.

Read all about the UK record breaking flight at
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/23/balloon_record/

Mark Jessop VK5FDRK & Adrian Snell VK5ZSN Ham Radio Blog http://blog.darklomax.org/

RF Head – HAB & Ham Radio Experimentation http://rfhead.net/

Project Horus http://projecthorus.org/

Sep 8 2011

Experiments on the Prospero Satellite

October 28, 2011 will be the 40th anniversary of the historic launch of Prospero the UK’s first satellite to be launched on the Black Arrow rocket.

A description of the Prospero satellite and its experiments written in 1975 can be downloaded here

Pictures of the Prospero ground station can be downloaded here

Attempts are underway to reactivate Propero, beacon frequency 137.560 MHz see 1970s UK Satellite To Be Revived

Picture of Black Arrow Rocket on Display in Australia

Sep 5 2011

1970s UK Satellite To Be Revived

40 years ago the United Kingdom’s first satellite launched on a UK built rocket went into space and now a team from the Mullard Space Science Laboratory in Surrey are attempting to revive it.

The Prospero spacecraft was launched by a Black Arrow rocket on October 28, 1971 from Launch Area 5B, Woomera carrying a series of experiments to investigate the effects of the space environment. The satellite operated successfully until 1973 and was contacted annually until 1996. Its beacon on 137.560 MHz was heard by Amateurs in 2006.

Audio recordings of the 0.3 watt phase modulated signal with 2048 bit/s PCM from Prospero on 137.560 MHz can be heard on the Sounds from Space site of Matthias Bopp DD1US http://www.dd1us.de/spacesounds%204.html

Prospero real-time oribtal tracking page http://www.vk3ukf.com/Space/GadgetSatProspero.htm

BBC Prospero story and pics at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14783135

Bernhard VA6BMJ says that there’s an item about Prospero in the Space Boffins podcast :
http://audioboo.fm/boos/431009-space-boffins-podcast2

Britain in Space http://www.britain-in-space.co.uk/1960/blackarrow.html