Student CubeSat projects roundup – Nov.20.2018

A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. about student and amateur CubeSat / smallsat projects and programs:

** Yahsat, Khalifa University deliver MYSAT-1 CubeSat to ISS – Telecompaper

UAE-based satellite operator Yahsat, Khalifa University of Science and Technology and Northrop Grumman have announced the successful launch of the MYSAT-1 CubeSat to the International Space Station (ISS) on board the Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft. CubeSat will be used for educational and research purposes once it is deployed to its final orbit in the beginning of 2019.

The nanosatellite carries two payloads, including a camera to take images of the UAE from space, demonstrating the process of remote sensing, as well as an innovative lithium-ion battery developed at Khalifa University to be tested in the extreme temperatures and radiation in space. MYSAT-1 is the first Cubesat (or nanosatellite) built at the Yahsat Space Lab at Khalifa University.

** Small satellites tackle big scientific questions – CU Boulder Today/University of Colorado Boulder

CU Boulder will soon have new eyes on the sun. Two miniature satellites designed by researchers at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics(LASP) are scheduled to launch later this month on Spaceflight’s SSO-A: SmallSat Express mission onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The new missions—called the Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer-2 (MinXSS-2) and the Compact Spectral Irradiance Monitor (CSIM)—will collect data on the physics of the sun and its impact on life on Earth.

These “CubeSats,” which are smaller than a microwave oven, are set to blast into a near-Earth orbit alongside more than 60 other spacecraft. According to Spaceflight, the SSO-A: SmallSat Express is the largest dedicated rideshare mission from a U.S.-based launch vehicle to date.

** KNACKSAT to launch November 19 | Southgate Amateur Radio News

Tanan Rangseeprom HS1JAN reports KNACKSAT, the first CubeSat made in Thailand, will be launched into orbit at 18:32 GMT on Monday, November 19, 2018 by SpaceX as part of the SSO-A mission

KNACKSAT is a small satellite carrying the great pride of Thailand.

** SpaceX launch from KSC to achieve ‘dream’ of ham radio enthusiasts – Florida Today

Ham radio communication through the space station and other satellites has always been limited to low orbits offering short windows for communication within a spacecraft’s coverage area as it passes by.

That is set to change with SpaceX’s planned Thursday afternoon launch from Kennedy Space Center of a Qatari communications satellite, Es’hail-2, to an orbit high over the equator.

“We’ve never gotten a transponder up in geostationary orbit,” said Joe Spier, president of the nonprofit Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, or AMSAT, in North America. “It’s this repeater station in the sky that stays overhead all the time, and that has long been a dream of radio amateurs.”

** South Korea Has Five Satellites On Upcoming SpaceX Falcon-9 Launch – SpaceWatch.Global

South Korean government agencies and universities have five payloads on board the upcoming SpaceX Falcon-9 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, United States. The launch is currently scheduled for 19 November 2018, and will loft approximately 60 satellites from numerous countries and companies.

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects: ANS-322 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin