Category Archives: Amateur/Student Satellite

Amateur/Student Satellite, Education, Space Systems

Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – Dec.24.2019

A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here):

** West Virginia Universty’s CubeSat STF-1 (Simulation-to-Flight 1) judged a success after a year in orbit: WV MetroNews Officials mark spacecraft’s first year in orbit – WV MetroNews

WVU was the research partner of the STF-1 mission. The four science experiments WVU developed included a low-powered characterizer of III-V Nitride based materials, a Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) swarm, the testing of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Receiver for precise orbit determination, and an environment and space weather investigation which was split into two separate experiments lead by Dr. Dimitris Vassiliadis worked as a research associate professor in the WVU Physics Department at the early stages of the STF-1 mission.

“STF-1 was quite successful in operating nearly flawlessly in terms of spacecraft performance for about 6 months and also meeting several science goals including those pertaining to the plasma experiment and the energetic-particle experiment,” Vassiliadis said. “This is somewhat remarkable for a CubeSat built by a first-time team with varying levels of expertise, but it is one more demonstration that modern CubeSats are becoming increasingly reliable.”

The CubeSat, funded by NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative program, was launched on Dec.16, 2018 on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from New Zealand: LIFTOFF! – STF-1 News

STF-1 ready for integration in to the Electron rocket. Credits: WVU STF-1 team

** 15 student teams in Canadian CubeSat Project rush to prepare their spacecraft for 2021 launch opportunity: Mini-satellite competition gives students a hands-on learning opportunity in space | University Affairs

The hands-on training spans every step of developing a space mission, from initial design to building, testing, launching and operating the CubeSat in orbit, says Ian Mann, a professor of physics at U of A and faculty advisor for his university’s entry, the Ex-Alta 2 CubeSat project. The CSA hopes to inspire interest in STEM fields and give students the opportunity to round out their technical knowledge with business, project management and communications skills, says Dean Sangiorgi, senior engineer with the CSA and project manager for the CubeSat project. The latter is achieved in part through an outreach plan each team is required to include.

“It’s the exact kind of stuff that you don’t quite get to do in your classes. You learn theory about how to do this, but maybe don’t get to actually carry it out,” says Callie Lissinna, an undergraduate mechanical engineering student at U of A and the Ex-Alta 2 project manager.

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects: ANS-356 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

  • SMOG-P and ATL-1 Designated Magyar-OSCAR 105 (MO-105) and Magyar-OSCAR 106 (MO-106)
  • CAMSAT CAS-6 Satellite Launched
  • FCC Formally Adopts Proposals to Remove Amateur 3-GHz Band, Invites Comments
  • FCC Considers NPRM for 5.9 GHz Band Rules
  • Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for December 19, 2019
  • AztechSat-1 CubeSat to Demonstrate Intra-Satellite Communication
  • AMSAT CW Day, January 1, 2020 is Just Ahead!
  • ESA’s OPS-SAT Flying Laboratory Launched
  • AMSAT-LU – Dec-15 AMSAT-LU NEMO-1 Buoy Report
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • ARISS News
  • Satellite Shorts from All Over

General CubeSat/SmallSat info:

== Amazon Ad ==

Introduction to CubeSat Technology and Subsystem:
Orbit Design, Debris Impact, and Orbital Decay Prediction

Amateur/Student Satellite, Education, Space Systems

Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – Dec.17.2019

A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here):

** Indian rocket orbits Duchifat-3 CubeSat built by Israeli high school students:

Duchifat-3 CubeSat.

Firstpost:

Duchifat 3 is the third in the series of Israeli student-made satellites.

Jointly built by Herzliya Science Center and Sha’ar HaNegev High School students, the satellite is designed to serve children from across the country to “observe the Earth”.

“It is a photo satellite used for ecological research of Earth from space. The size of the satellite is 10x10x30 cm (3U) and it weighs 2.3 kg. The students worked for almost two and a half years to build it. The satellite will be of good help to agriculturists,” one of the donors for the project and head of ICA Foundation Zeev Miller told PTI.

** Brazilian student built Floripast CubeSat included on upcoming Chinese launch: Chinese-Brazilian satellite scheduled to be launched on 20 December – Macauhub

Bolsonaro also said in his tweet that besides the CBERS-4A, nano-satellite Floripast (cubeSat) would also be launched, a project developed by students of bachelor, master and doctorate courses in Electrical Engineering, Automation and Mechanical Engineering of the Federal University of Santa Catarina, in partnership with the Uniespaço programme of the Brazilian Space Agency.

** ORBITAL SPACE startup company is encouraging CubeSat development in Kuwait: Exploring a new space opportunity in Kuwait with Orbital Space – SatellitePro ME

In 2013, Alfeeli moved to the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science, where he has worked ever since. Orbital Space takes up his evenings and weekends, as he manages several initiatives in parallel. He has set up a basic ground station called Um Alaish 4, after its predecessor, to receive signals from CubeSats. Orbital Space is also involved in building the country’s first CubeSat, with a group of around 15 Kuwaiti volunteers. The Kuwaiti engineer initiated the CubeSat project as a tool to attract space enthusiasts.

“The idea is to create a platform to bring together a community of space enthusiasts in Kuwait. There is interest from the young generation, but there is no project that engages them to create that critical mass. I figured we needed a hub where people can come together and do that. So Orbital Space has now created that opportunity and is open to anyone who wants to join us to promote space in Kuwait,” Alfeeli says.

By creating greater awareness through public talks on the history of the ground station in Kuwait and hands-on workshops on CubeSats for kids, he hopes to plant the seeds of a space programme in Kuwait. In addition to all the other initiatives, Orbital Space has also launched a competition for high-school students and undergraduate students in partnership with US-headquartered space commercialisation company Nanoracks, with the winning experiment to be sent to the International Space Station (ISS).

Find more about the student competition at Experiment In Space.

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects: ANS-359 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

  • Calling All Radio Amateurs: Help Find OPS-SAT!
  • FCC Moves to Remove 3.4 GHz Amateur Satellite Allocation
  • Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution
  • FoxTelem version 1.08w Released
  • AMSAT-EA works against the clock on GÉNESIS satellites
  • New NASA eBook Reveals Insights of Earth Seen at Night from Space
  • Israel Applauds Successful Launch of Duchifat3
  • Ham Radio University Satellite Operations Forum on January 4
  • Possible ARISS SSTV Operation Before Year’s End
  • Recent ARISS Contacts
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

General CubeSat/SmallSat info:

== Amazon Ad ==

Introduction to CubeSat Technology and Subsystem:
Orbit Design, Debris Impact, and Orbital Decay Prediction

Amateur/Student Satellite, Education, Space Radio

Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – Dec.9.2019

A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here):

**AzTechSat-1 CubeSat built by Mexican students reaches the ISS: Mexican Students Launch a Small Satellite to the Space Station | NASA

The first satellite built by students in Mexico for launch from the International Space Station is smaller than a shoebox but represents a big step for its builders.

The project is part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, which offers universities, high schools and non-profit organizations the opportunity to fly small satellites. Innovative technology partnerships keep down the cost, providing students a way to obtain hands-on experience developing flight hardware.

A multidisciplinary team of students at Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla (UPAEP), in Puebla, Mexico, built the CubeSat for AzTechSat-1. The investigation demonstrates communication within a satellite network in low-Earth orbit. Such Intra-satellite communication could reduce the need for ground stations, lowering the cost and increasing the number of data downloads possible for satellite applications.

“Jose Cortez of NASA Ames (left) and Joel Contreras of UPAEP (right), conduct final integration of AzTechSat-1 into the Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) in preparation for launch to the International Space Station. Credits: NASA”

** University of the Philippines team building STAMINA4Space CubeSat: Meet the future of Philippine space exploration | ABS-CBN News

After a series of tests and screening, Wee and seven others from different science backgrounds and regions were accepted into UP’s graduate program for electrical engineering and into the Space Technology and Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement (STAMINA4Space) program of the DOST.

For Dr. Joel Joseph Marciano, who heads the STAMINA4Space program and the DOST-ASTI, said making cube satellites locally is an important step for the Philippines.

“Building satellites is one way you can be in space,” he said. “These smaller satellites are becoming more powerful, can take meaningful missions, experiments in space.”

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects: ANS-342 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

  • AMSAT Member Melissa Pore, KM4CZN, Named 2020 Carole Perry Educator of the Year
  • AMSAT Vice President – Educational Relations Alan Johnston, KU2Y, Participates in Hackaday Hack Chat
  • AMSAT to Join ARRL in Opposition to FCC Proposal to Eliminate 3.3 – 3.5 GHz Amateur Allocation
  • Chris Taron, NK1K, Completes Satellite DXCC via LEO Satellites
  • Duchifat3 with V/u FM Transponder to Launch December 11
  • Donate to AMSAT Tax-Free From Your IRA
  • AZTECHSAT-1 Cubesat to Transmit Emergency Traffic using WINLINK
  • AMSAT-SA to Shift Main Focus to AfriCUBE, a Digital SDR CubeSat
  • LSF Heads Back to Orbit with the Qubik Mission
  • VUCC Awards And Endorsements for November 2019
  • Upcoming ARISS Activities
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

See also

General CubeSat/SmallSat info:

== Amazon Ad ==

Introduction to CubeSat Technology and Subsystem:
Orbit Design, Debris Impact, and Orbital Decay Prediction

Amateur/Student Satellite, Education, Space Radio

Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – Dec.2.2019

A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here):

** The Community Satellite Project aims to crowd-develop CubeSats

The Community Satellite Project is an online group of international space professionals and students, collaborating to launch BATSAT, a crowd-developed cubesat. The group was initially founded in early November 2019 via r/space, following a reputable space company’s offer of a free launch.

Our goals are not only to develop and use BATSAT to conduct cutting edge aerospace research, but to facilitate mentorship between space experts and students.

We are currently in the recruiting and mission defining stages of this process.

If you are interested in becoming part of the team, please get in touch via our Join Us page.

This article profiles one of the project’s founders and describes their plans: Southland teenager on mission to build satellite | Stuff.co.nz

More than 740 people have joined the online group, including aerospace engineers, avionics and payload experts, cloud engineers, satellite ground station engineers and university students from all over the world. 

Of this, 260 supporters with specialist skills have been assigned to various teams to confirm the parameters of the project, with regular conversations held using an online meeting app. 

The collective decision is to build two small satellites, each about the size of a Rubik’s Cube, to test a theory about whether electro-magnetic tether straps can be used to de-orbit a satellite once it has come to the end of its life.

More about the project:

** Freeport, New York high school team building CubeSat funded with NASA grant:  Freeport High School prepares for liftoff | Herald Community Newspapers – www.liherald.com

The students have broken their project into phases, and are now in the construction phase. Once Strong and Johnson finish building the satellite, they will conduct environmental tests to expose it to vibration, vacuum and temperature conditions closely identical to space.

Then the students will work with NASA to prepare to launch it into space. After the launch, the seniors will perform satellite operations and conduct space experiments. Once the space mission is complete, the nanosatellite will fall to Earth, possibly burning up in the atmosphere.

See also District Wins Grant to Build CubeSat – Freeport Public Schools.

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects: ANS-335 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

  • AMSAT Fox Leaderboard Will Show Monthly Leaders
  • AMSAT Will Be at Superstition Superfest Hamfest
  • Electron Booster on the Pad for Rocket Lab’s 10th Mission
  • FCC Seeks to Clear Radio Amateurs Out of 3.4 GHz
  • WRC-19 Final Report: Small Satellites and the 1240-1300 MHz Band
  • AMSAT Auction Celebrating 45th Birthday of AO-7 Raises $480
  • Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

General CubeSat/SmallSat info:

The Juventas radar CubeSat to be deployed by the Hera mission to study the Didymos asteroids. Credits: ESA

== Amazon Ad ==

Introduction to CubeSat Technology and Subsystem:
Orbit Design, Debris Impact, and Orbital Decay Prediction

Amateur/Student Satellite, Education, Space Radio

Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – Nov.24.2019

A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here):

** Update on Arizona State’s Phoenix CubeSat, which reached the ISS on the recent Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo mission: Arizona State University students design satellite to research Urban Heat Island – abc15.com

“Concrete and asphalt tend to retain the heat of the sun and heat the place. We want to know exactly why, where, and when the cities are heating up,” De La Vega stated.

Once the satellite gets deployed by astronauts onboard the International Space Station in January, the team will be testing, calibrating, and hopefully, receiving data from the satellite for further research.

ASU Phoenix Cubesat Diagram
Component diagram of the ASU Phoenix Cubesat.

** And an update on the Univ. of Minnesota’s SOCRATES cubesat, which also rode the Cygnus to the ISS: The University of Minnesota Sends CubeSat to Space – Food & Beverage Herald

[SOCRATES} is the first-ever made by the university in a joint venture featuring university professors and students from a variety of space-related fields and engineering. The project is under NASA’s Undergraduate Student Instrument Project, which was started three years ago to give students opportunities to build and launch satellites into space.

More than 30 students from the university were interested in the program, led by Kyle Houser, the chief engineer and Burgett, the project manager. The SOCRATES was developed in the university’s Small Satellite Project Lab, founded by Demoz Gebre and physics professor Lindsay Glesener for a small satellite study.

The SOCRATES is fitted with state-of-the-art X-ray detection sensors to provide navigation when GPS is inaccessible. The satellite will also be able to capture information on electronic acceleration from solar flares to aid in the study of the solar phenomenon. The SOCRATES will be released to orbit the Earth in January 2020 from the International Space Station, where it is held at the moment.

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects: ANS-328 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

  • AMSAT Auction Celebrating the 45th Birthday of AO-7 Now Live
  • November 18 Marked 2nd Anniversary On Orbit for AMSAT-OSCAR 91
  • November 21 Marked 6th Anniverary of AMSAT-UK’s AO-73 FUNcube-1
  • Proposed FCC Auction of C-Band Increases Competition for Allocations
  • Satellite Operations From the Queen Mary on December 14
  • Donate to AMSAT Tax-Free From Your IRA
  • Open Source ‘APRS to Discord’ Bridge Project Begins Testing
  • ARISS Activities
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • The Voyage Home: Japan’s Hayabusa-2 Probe Heads Back to Earth
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

General CubeSat/SmallSat info:

== Amazon Ad ==

Introduction to CubeSat Technology and Subsystem:
Orbit Design, Debris Impact, and Orbital Decay Prediction