Tag Archives: UKSEDS

Jun 28 2017

UBSEDS25 balloon has Slow Scan Digital Video

UBSEDS18 Solar Powered Balloon

Bristol students plan to transmit 434 MHz Slow Scan Digital Video (SSDV) from the UBSEDS25 solar powered high altitude balloon planned to launch on Saturday, July 1.

On the UKHAS Google Group Richard Meadows M0SBU from University of Bristol Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (UBSEDS) writes:

We’re planning a launch from Bristol this Saturday, July 1 between 0500 and 0530 BST. This is weather permitting, but the forecast currently looks okay.

This flight is similar to the previous UBSEDS24, except with some bug fixes and adjustments. It’s using a 1.9m envelope and longer payload train, and so there’s a NOTAM in place. This tracker has a Raspberry Pi Zero V1.3 attached, which transmits images when solar power is available. It’s a different design to our launch last August; in this case the tracker will continue to operate even if the pi fails. For the curious the ‘pi status’ telemetry values are: 0 = off, 1 = on, 2 = PITS started, 3 = SSDV started).

There will hopefully be a cutdown mounted between the balloon and the tracker. We’ll be testing the 434MHz uplink whilst it’s still in range of Bristol; if it returns over the UK at a convenient time and place we will attempt to trigger the cutdown.

The tracker has a variety of transmissions:

• 434.635 MHz USB Telemetry:
– Contestia 16/1000 with pips and RSID, transmitting telemetry. Once per minute below 8km altitude and every two minutes otherwise.

• 434.637.5 MHz SSDV:
– Usually 300 baud RTTY, 850Hz shift, 8N2.
– GMSK within 100km of Bristol and Farnham as marked on the attached map:
– GMSK at 12 ksymbol/s. 4×4 interleaved, R=1/2 convolutional K=5, HDLC framing, whitened etc as per the AX5043 manual. Concatenated with RS(255,223) to mop up some burst errors.

If you are listening to the RTTY, remember to turn off the ‘RxID’ button on the top right of dl-fldigi.

Rather than the usual JPEG SSDV, this is transmitting Better Portable Graphics (BPG) images. This is experimental, and ssdv.habhub.org doesn’t support it just yet. Hence receivers should instead upload to
http://ssdv.bristol-seds.co.uk/

Please read the instructions on this site. You’ll need dl-fldigi release 3.2, as explained on the site. The dl-fldigi release can be found here:
https://github.com/jamescoxon/dl-fldigi/releases/tag/3.2

The flight is expected to head south-east towards France. Many thanks to everyone who attempts to track this.

Richard Meadows M0SBU
Bristol SEDS http://www.bristol-seds.co.uk/

Launch date/times are always subject to last-minute changes, check the UKHAS Google Group for updates.

Useful High Altitude Balloon links for tracking etc https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/balloons/

Mar 21 2016

UK student balloon flies around the world

UBSEDS14 balloon track as at 1300 GMT March 21, 2016

UBSEDS14 balloon track as at 1300 GMT March 21, 2016

On Monday, March 21, 2016 the UBSEDS14 balloon, launched by University of Bristol students, completed its circumnavigation of the Northern Hemisphere.

UBSEDS14 balloon envelope

UBSEDS14 balloon envelope

The University of Bristol Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (UBSEDS) launched their balloon on Monday, March 8. Powered by a single AA Lithium Energiser Battery (LR91).

During the flight at an altitude of about 11,500m the balloon has been transmitting telemetry data at 4 minute intervals using 5 dBm output of Contestia 16/1000 on 434.600 MHz USB. Each telemetry packet is preceded by 10 seconds of 1Hz pips for manual alignment and a RSID tone for automatic alignment with suitable software. Additionally the payload has the capability for 144 MHz APRS.

UBSEDS14 tracker payload

UBSEDS14 tracker payload

The balloon has a diameter of 1.5m and the payload weighs just 21.3 grams. Despite the weight constraints the team have managed to employ sophisticated Geofencing technology to prevent the balloon transmitting when over certain countries and also to select different APRS frequencies depending on the territory being overflown.

UBSEDS14 information is available at
http://www.bristol-seds.co.uk/hab/flight/2016/03/07/ubseds14.html

UBSEDS14 balloon launch
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2016/march/ubseds14_balloon_launches_today.htm

Useful High Altitude Balloon Links https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/balloons/

One of the students involved in the project is Richard Meadows M0SBU. He took the amateur radio courses run by the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society (CARS) at Danbury in Essex. Further information on the courses is available from the CARS Training Manager
Email: training2016 at g0mwt.org.uk
Web: http://g0mwt.org.uk/training

What is Amateur Radio? http://www.essexham.co.uk/what-is-amateur-radio

Find an amateur radio training course near you https://thersgb.org/services/coursefinder/

A free booklet is available aimed at introducing newcomers to the hobby that can also be used as a handy reference while getting started, see
http://rsgb.org/main/get-started-in-amateur-radio/alex-discovers-amateur-radio-2/

Jan 24 2014

FUNcube at National Student Space Conference

FUNcube-1 (AO-73) - Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

FUNcube-1 (AO-73) – Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

David Johnson G4DPZ will be giving a presentation on the FUNcube-1 (AO-73) spacecraft to the National Student Space Conference being held at the University of Leicester on March 1-2.

David is a software engineer and committee member of AMSAT-UK. He writes Open-Source satellite Ground-Segment and orbit prediction software, and has been involved in many amateur satellite projects over the past 35 years including PCSAT-2 (flew on the ISS), GENSO Network, AmsatDroid prediction App, STRaND-1 smartphone nanosatellite, and FUNcube Data Warehouse.

His talk will cover the AMSAT-NL/AMSAT-UK educational amateur satellite project – FUNcube, an educational single CubeSat project with the goal of enthusing and educating young people about radio, space, physics and electronics. He will give a short history of the project and the work leading up to the launch, share the thrill of launch day, and the current and future plans for operation of the satellite.

Also at the conference will be speakers from the UK Space Agency, Reaction Engines, and HE Space.

Conference Speakers http://ukseds.org/nssc2014/speakers.php

Jul 18 2013

UKube-1 with Amateur Radio Transponder may launch October

Artists impression of UKube-1 in orbit

Artists impression of UKube-1 in orbit – Credit Clyde Space

BBC News is reporting that the UK Space Agency’s first CubeSat UKube-1, being built by Clyde Space in Glasgow, may launch in late October 2013.

Clyde Space Senior Systems Engineer Steve Greenland will be giving a presentation on UKube-1 to the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium which takes place July 20-21 at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, UK.

The Colloquium is open to all but for those unable to attend the event all 18 presentations including UKube-1 will be web streamed live on the BATC site at http://batc.tv/ch_live.php?ch=3

Flight and Engineering Models of FUNcube-1 with FUNcube-2 boards

Flight and Engineering Models of FUNcube-1 with FUNcube-2 boards

UKube-1 will carry a set of AMSAT-UK FUNcube-2 boards which will provide:
• 1200 bps BPSK telemetry beacon on 145.915 MHz
• Linear transponder downlink 145.930-145.950 MHz for SSB/CW communications
• Linear transponder uplink 435.080-435.060 MHz

In addition UKube-1 also carries:
• ISIS 1200 bps BPSK telemetry beacon on 145.840 MHz
• UKSEDS myPocketQub 442 on 437.425-437.525 MHz with 11 mW output using spread spectrum
• 1 watt transmitter on 2401.0 MHz from Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), Cape Town, for high data rate mission data downlinking using up to 1 Mbps QPSK or OQPSK modulation

Gunter’s Space Page lists UKube-1 as manifested on a Soyuz-2-1b Fregat-M rocket to be launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan.

FUNcube-1 flight model - Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

FUNcube-1 flight model – Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

If the launch does go ahead as planned in late October then the FUNcube-2 boards will be in orbit before the FUNcube-1 satellite which may launch in November, 2013 on a Dnepr rocket from Dombarovsky near Yasny.

FUNcube-1 will be using these frequencies:
• 1200 bps BPSK telemetry beacon on 145.935 MHz
• Linear transponder downlink 145.950-145.970 MHz for SSB/CW communications
• Linear transponder uplink 435.150-435.130 MHz

There will be a presentation on FUNcube-1 at the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium which will be streamed live to the web. The presentation schedule is here.

Read the BBC News story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-23319103

Watch UK Space Agency video – UKube-1 CubeSat payload animation

On Friday, October 19, 2012 after some final testing and characterisation checks completed at the facilities of ISIS BV in Delft, AMSAT-UK handed over the set of three PCBs that form the FUNcube-2 subsystem on the UKube-1 spacecraft to Clyde Space Ltd in Glasgow. Clyde Space are leading the development and assembly of this CubeSat project for the UK Space Agency.

Steve Greenland of Clyde Space receives the AMSAT-UK FUNcube-2 boards that will be incorporated into UKube-1

Steve Greenland of Clyde Space receives the AMSAT-UK FUNcube-2 boards that will be incorporated into UKube-1

The PCBs were taken to Glasgow in a Pelicase by Graham Shirville G3VZV who handed them to Steve Greenland Senior Systems Engineer at Clyde Space.

The three PCB’s comprise:
• CCT Board – Command, control and telemetry, interfaces via I2C with the antenna deployment system and the main OBC (On-Board Computer).
• RF Board – Command receiver, telemetry transmitter and linear transponder of the FUNcube satellite educational payload also includes telemetry sensors.
• PA Board – 400 mW VHF amplifier and sensors.

The telemetry transmitter provided by AMSAT-UK will be available for educational outreach to school students around the world.

UKube-1 on display at UK Space Conference in Glasgow

UKube-1 on display at UK Space Conference in Glasgow

Mar 1 2013

UKSEDS National Student Space Conference 2013 Pictures

UKSEDS_square_800Jim Heck G3WGM, Honorary Secretary of AMSAT-UK and project lead on the FUNcube amateur radio satellite project, gave a presentation on FUNcube-1 to the UKSEDS National Student Space Conference (NSSC) that took place in Bristol on February 23-24.

The Chair of UKSEDS, Damian Rumble, has released some pictures of the conference at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.432122870198839.1073741825.347105152033945&type=1

Feb 15 2013

AMSAT-UK at National Student Space Conference Bristol Feb 23-24

FUNcube-1 flight model - Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

FUNcube-1 flight model – Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

Jim Heck G3WGM, Honorary Secretary of AMSAT-UK and project lead on the FUNcube amateur radio satellite project, will be giving a presentation on FUNcube-1 to the UKSEDS National Student Space Conference (NSSC) that takes place in Bristol on February 23-24.

The NSSC is an annual event that brings together students, academics, and professionals from across the country to share knowledge of space, discuss the challenges facing the sector, and to create new links between groups. It features talks by leading space science and industry figures, and opportunities to take part in discussions and networking events.

UKSEDS National Student Space Conference Bristol 2013This year’s NSSC is hosted by Bristol SEDS, part of the Bristol CHAOS Physics society, at the University of Bristol School of Physics.

The impressive line up of speakers includes Alan Bond of Reaction Engines Ltd on the SKYLON Development Programme and John Thatcher of Astrium Satellites Ltd who’ll be talking about MIRI & the James Webb Space Telescope.

Further information on the conference is at http://ukseds.org/conference2013/