Author Archives: PE0SAT

ESA Vega Launch Includes 8 Amateur Band Satellites

Posted on by

Vega Artist ImpressionVega is scheduled to launch on February 13, at 1000 UTC with eight student built amateur radio satellites. Internet video streaming of the launch will be available.

The launcher will first deploy the main payload, the LARES the Laser relativity Spacecraft and will then make an additional firing of the final OVUM stage before deploying the secondary cubesat payloads. The planned timing for these deployments, in order of ejection, are as follows:

  • T0+ 4245.30secs 1st PPOD, with XatCobeo, e-st@r, and Goliat.
  • T0+ 4255.30secs 2nd PPOD, with Robusta, MaSat-1 and PW-Sat.
  • T0+ 4265.30secs 3rd PPOD, with UniCubeSat.
  • T0+ 4275.30secs AlmaSat-1.

The Cubesats will not deploy their antennas until 1800 seconds after they leave their PODS. It is not known how soon AlmaSat-1 will start transmitting after deployment.

Vega Launch Cubesat Amateur Band Frequencies

AlmaSat-1 437.465 MHz 1200 bps FSK, 2407.850 MHz
E-St@r 437.445 MHz 1200 bps AFSK
Goliat 437.485 MHz 1200 bps AFSK
MaSat-1 437.345 MHz GFSK 625/1250 bps (demodulator/decoder software), CW
PW-Sat 435.020 MHz FM uplink, 145.990 MHz DSB downlink
Robusta 437.325 MHz 1200 bps FM telemetry (data every 1 min, 20 sec. burst)
UniCubeSat 437.305 MHz 9600 bps FSK
XaTcobeo 437.365 MHz FFSK with AX.25

The university cubesat teams welcome reception reports. All observers are invited to submit reports via amsat-bb and to also join the CubeSat Internet Relay Chat channel to pass on their news and comments in realtime. You will need an IRC client such as the ChatZilla addon for FireFox or mIRC to join the cubesat chat. Connect to the irc.freenode.net server. Once connected to the server the /join #cubesat command will bring you into the channel. Many users set their chat nickname to “name_callsign”.

[PE0SAT thanks www.amsat.org for the above information]

ISS Performs Debris Avoidance Maneuver

Posted on by

Check Your Keps: ISS Performs Debris Avoidance Maneuver

UniverseToday reports that the ISS needed to perform a maneuver on Friday, January 13 to avoid debris from the 2009 collision between an inactive Russian Cosmos 2251 satellite and a commercial Iridium satellite.

ISS After Undocking STS134U.S. Space Command recommended the space station perform a debris avoidance maneuver on Friday, January 13, 2012 to move out of harms’ way and dodge a possible collision with the piece of space junk, said to be about 10 centimeters in diameter. The thrusters on the Zvezda service module fired at 1610 UTC on Friday to raise the orbit of the ISS.

Without the maneuver, the object would have made two close approaches to the station on consecutive orbits on Friday, passing within the “pizza box” shaped region around the station, measuring 0.75 kilometers above and below the station and 25 kilometers on each side (2,460 feet above and below and 15.6 by 15.6 miles).

A higher orbit for the ISS means that AOS will occur at a slightly later time than those predicted in existing Keplerian Elements. Users are encourage to update their tracking elements to maintain tracking accuracy.

[PE0SAT thanks UniverseToday.com for the above information]

ARISSat-1/KEDR Goes Silent

Posted on by

ARISSat-1 ModelReception reports indicate that ARISSat-1/KEDR has stopped transmitting on Wednesday, January 4, 2012. The last full telemetry captured and reported to the ARISSatTLM web site at 06:02:14 UTC on January 4 were received from ground stations as the satellite passed over Japan.

See: http://www.arissattlm.org/live (full telemetry display)
See: http://www.arissattlm.org/mobile (condensed telemetry)

Telemetry reports showed that the temperature aboard ARISSat-1/KEDR had been rising as atmospheric drag began to affect the satellite. Final temperatures received via ARISSatTLM reported this data:

IHU           75 ° C / 167.0 ° F
PSU           76 ° C / 168.8 ° F
RF            88 ° C / 190.4 ° F
Control Panel 61 ° C / 141.8 ° F
Experiment    64 ° C / 147.2 ° F

Tracking data from Space Command gave a Predicted Decay Time 0700 GMT +/- 3 Hours on January 4. Telemetry report narrows the impact time window to about 4 hours. The predicted decay location is 12.7° S, 354.3° E, an open part of the South Atlantic, well west of Angola. Send reports to the amsat-bb If you heard the satellite, even briefly, after 0600 UTC. This will help confirm the actual impact point.

Stations receiving telemetry from ARISSat-1 at any time over the last few months, please forward all of your .CSV telemetry files to telemetry AT arissattlm.org.

The Official ARISSat-1/KEDR web page: http://www.arissat1.org/ See DK3WN SatBlog for last signal report received by Tetsu san, JA0CAW in Japan: http://www.dk3wn.info/p/ p=25125

[PE0SAT thanks the ARISSat-1/KEDR Team for the above information]

FO-29 Recovered

Posted on by

Mineo JE9PELThe FO-29 Command Team reports from Japan that they have recovered the satellite after it had experienced a shutdown due to longer eclipse periods causing an undervoltage condition.

Ground station operators have placed FO-29 in a temporary, but stable configuration for further testing and recovery operations. They will test FO-29 while it is over Japan between December 23-25.

If no problems occur the Command Team will announce an operating schedule for the satellite for the remainder of 2011 and into the early part of 2012. Please standby for further news and announcements.

[PE0SAT thanks Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL for the above information]