Category Archives: Amateur/Student Satellite

Amateur/Student Satellite, Space Radio

Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – Feb.10.2019

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

** Images of earth from lunar orbit are being captured via amateur radio transmissions from a transceiver placed on a Chinese satellite by a group at the Harbin Institute of Technology: Far side of the Moon photographed by amateurs – Dwingeloo Radio Telescope/CAMRAS

This image shows the far side of the Moon, as well as our own planet Earth. It was taken with a camera linked to an amateur radio transceiver on board the Chinese DSLWP-B / Longjiang-2 satellite (call sign BJ1SN), currently in orbit around the Moon, and transmitted back to Earth where it was received with the Dwingeloo Telescope.

Earth as seen from lunar orbit via a camera on the Chinese DSLWP-B / Longjiang-2 satellite and a transceiver built by a team at Harbin Institute of Technology. Credits Dwingeloo Radio Telescope.

This image represents the culmination of several observing sessions spread over the past few months where we used the Dwingeloo telescope in collaboration with the Chinese team from Harbin University of Technology, who build the radio transceiver on board Longjiang-2, and radio amateurs spread across the globe.
…
The transceiver on board Longjiang-2 was designed to allow radio amateurs to downlink telemetry and relay messages through a satellite in lunar orbit, as well as command it to take and downlink images. In that it has succeeded, as many radio amateurs have received telemetry and image data. Being able to use the Dwingeloo telescope to help with this has been a lot of fun.

Note that the Dwingeloo Radio Telescope in the Netherlands is the “largest radio telescope in the world for amateurs”.

See also

** New CubeSat Club: Exploring Space Science and Engineering | Villanova University

A new Villanova College of Engineering student organization has formed this year—the CubeSat Club. Dr. Alan Johnston, associate teaching professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is the faculty advisor working alongside the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, a not-for-profit group that has been building and launching ham radio satellites for fifty years. Dr. Johnston volunteers with AMSAT as the vice president for education outreach. The CubeSat Club is aimed at introducing students to CubeSats and satellite technology…

See also AMSAT VP Educational Relations leads Villanova University CubeSat Club | Southgate Amateur Radio News.

** More about University of Southern Indiana CubeSat project – USI ventures into final frontier – The Shield

Five university undergraduate students were finally able to see the 10-by-10-by-30 centimeter satellite launch into the great beyond after two and a half years working on the UNITE CubeSat project.

 

The launch of USI’s UNITE CubeSat from the ISS. Credits: NASA and NanoRacks.

The five active members on the Undergraduate Nano Ionospheric Temperature Explorer (UNITE) CubeSat team, Wyatt Helms, Ryan Loehrlein, Zack Snyder, Sujan Kaphle and Nathan Kalsch, watched the satellite deploy from the International Space Station on campus Jan. 31.

“It was a really great feeling because after working on this project for two plus years, finally seeing something that you put so much time and effort into being deployed from the space station I mean, you don’t hear any sound but you just imagine this little ‘boop’ as it’s being shot out,” Helms, the team lead, said.

The CubeSat will be deployed for 15 months and has three main missions: conducting space weather measurements, measuring exterior and interior temperatures of the spacecraft for comparison with a thermal model and tracking orbital decay of the spacecraft in the lower ionosphere where other methods are in error.

…

[Project advisor Assistant Professor of Physics Eric Greenwood] said that the grant required the project to be student led. The professors were not allowed to build the components of the CubeSat or be hands-on.

“It’s very exciting to have something that I was involved in that’s up in space,” Greenwood said. “The pride I feel for our students is tremendous.”

See also UNITE CubeSat Project – UNITE CUBESAT.

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects: ANS-041 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

  • AO-85 Turned Off Due to Return of Eclipses and Poor Battery Condition
  • Es’hail-2 / QO-100 Teleport Inauguration Day – February 14 [See Es’hail-2 / QO-100 Teleport Inauguration Day – February 14 | Southgate Amateur Radio News]
  • New Telemetry Decoder for FalconSat-3
  • AMSAT VP Educational Relations Leads Villanova University CubeSat Club
  • US Schools/Groups Move Into Phase 2 of ARISS Selections
  • Application Window Opens for European ARISS School Contacts
  • REMINDER – ARISS/NOTA Slow Scan TV Event Runs Until February 10
  • ISS Packet Operations Resume on 145.825 MHz
  • Ham Talk Live Podcast ARISS Update With Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
  • KG4AKV’s SpaceComms YouTube Channel – Building a Groundstation
  • FUNcube Dashboard Summary Update
  • VUCC Awards-Endorsements for January 2019
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • AMSAT-Francophone Satellite Design and Operation Survey
  • Early Bird Registration Opens for Cal Poly Cubesat Training
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

General CubeSat/SmallSat info:

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Amateur/Student Satellite, Education, Space Systems

Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – Feb.4.2019

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

** NTU Singapore Deploys Its Ninth Satellite Into Space – Asian Scientist Magazine

Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, has successfully launched and deployed its ninth satellite. NTU’s first foray into space began 20 years ago. The first project was a communication payload codenamed Merlion, while the main satellite body was developed by the University of Surrey, UK. The latest satellite, called the AOBA VELOX-IV cube satellite, was built by a team led by Mr. Lim Wee Seng, executive director of NTU’s Satellite Research Centre, while its new altitude determination and control algorithm was developed by Professor Cho Mengu’s research team at the Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan. It was launched from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Epsilon-4 rocket.

** USI students make history with UNITE CUBE SAT deployment – 14NEWS.com

Two years of hard work came to fruition Wednesday morning when students from USI [University of Southern Indiana] watched their handmade satellite launched from the International Space Station.

The team was selected to design, build, and monitor the UNITE CUBE SAT satellite. The device is designed to measure plasma levels in the ionosphere, study the Earth’s orbit and measure temperature readings when the satellite re-enters the atmosphere.

“It was a lot of testing and development,” said Ryan Loehrlein, a USI senior and assistant team leader on the UNITE project. “We were doing prototyping with the boards. We were outside in below freezing temperatures at times just making sure the satellite would work. So actually seeing it launch today and getting to see it launched into space it’s one of those things that…it’s hard to let go of it because we’ve been doing it so long.”

See also Satellite made by USI students launched into space – 14News.com

** New nanosatellite system captures better imagery at lower cost — ScienceDaily

Ben-Gurion University researchers have developed a new satellite imaging system that could revolutionize the economics and imagery available from space-based cameras and even earth-based telescopes.

“This is an invention that completely changes the costs of space exploration, astronomy, aerial photography, and more,” says Angika Bulbul, a BGU Ph.D. candidate under the supervision of Prof. Joseph Rosen in the BGU Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

In a paper published in the December issue of Optica, the researchers demonstrate that nanosatellites the size of milk cartons arranged in a spherical (annular) configuration were able to capture images that match the resolution of the full-frame, lens-based or concave mirror systems used on today’s telescopes.

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects: ANS-034 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

  • AMSAT Announces 50th Anniversary Space Symposium in Washington, DC
  • Es’hail-2/P4A Designated Qatar-OSCAR 100 (QO-100)
  • NEXUS Designated as Fuji-OSCAR 99 (FO-99)
  • OrigamiSat-1 Granted FO-98 OSCAR Number
  • Frank Bauer KA3HDO Appears on Ham Talk Live
  • The ARISS Team Thanks You for Your Tremendous Support in 2018!
  • ARRL Board Creates Permanent ARISS Committee
  • European Astro Pi Challenge 2018/19: Mission Zero
  • 2019 HamSCI Workshop Call for Papers and Speakers
  • AMSAT-DL Website Now Multilingual
  • Changes to the AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 31, 2019
  • How to Support AMSAT
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Satellite Shorts from All Over

** General CubeSat/SmallSat info:

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** Reposting –  From Basement to Orbit – A New Class of Personal Satellites by Joe Latrell — Kickstarter – Crowdfunding the launch of a picosat PocketQube.

Development is nearly complete. The design for the PocketQube is finalized, and the hardware is now functional. There are still some integration processes and software work to do along with various testing requirements. We are also in the process of getting our licensing with the FCC, ITU, and other government agencies. We have spent nearly $50,000 getting to this point. To take it across the finish line, we need to raise $50,000 more. Our plan is to launch Discovery in 2019 into a 500 km (310 miles) Sun synchronous orbit. This location gives the Discovery optimal viewing of the Earth and makes it easier for us to retrieve data and upload new instructions. But in order to be ready to fly, we have to finish a lot of fine details between now and then.

More at Kickstarter campaign starts to finance launch of garage-built cubesat | Behind The Black.

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Amateur/Student Satellite, Space Systems

Ecliptic Enterprises avionics supported successful launch of SSO-A mission

Rex Ridenoure of Ecliptic Enterprises forwarded to me the update below on the company’s involvement with the launch of 64 satellites, including many university CubeSats, on a single SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket last December. The SSO-A mission was organized by Spaceflight.

(I’ll note that Ecliptic is leading the development of the Planetary Society‘s LightSail 2, which should launch as a secondary on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy this spring.)

Avionics from Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation Key to Successful SSO-A Mission

Pasadena, California – 2019 February 1. The novel Sun-Synchronous Orbit-A mission (SSO-A) successfully completed on December 3 last year relied significantly on error-free operation of an extensive suite of avionics supplied by Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation (Pasadena, California). Conceived in 2015 by Spaceflight (Seattle, Washington), SSO-A was the first fully dedicated rideshare mission, where 64 small satellites were integrated onto a single large launch vehicle (a SpaceX Falcon 9) via a modular stack of support structure, launched into Low Earth orbit and then separately deployed from the support structure to become independent Earth-orbiting satellites. This mission set a new U.S. record for the most satellites launched by a single launch vehicle: 64.

Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg AFB with the 64 satellites of the SSO-A mission. Photo credit SpaceX.

Once reaching orbit, avionics on the Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage initiated six deployment events: separation of a large module called the Upper Free-Flyer (UFF), separation of a smaller module called the Lower Free-Flyer (LFF) and release of four small satellites which were attached to a structural module that remined with the second stage. All of the satellites deployed from the UFF and LFF were of the microsat/CubeSat class—20 on the UFF and 40 on the LFF. Ecliptic’s avionics interfaced with five different separation system designs from four different vendors.

The UFF and LFF were both outfitted with a redundant suite of Ecliptic-supplied control avionics, battery packs, radio transmitters and wire harnesses. Separation from the Falcon 9 activated these systems, and for several more hours a combined 60 spacecraft release events were commanded by the electronics, following complex, thoroughly tested event sequences stored in non-volatile memory. Confirmation signals verifying spacecraft release and other important engineering telemetry were also captured and relayed to various tracking stations around the globe.

“Ecliptic’s products and services were the key to mission success,”

wrote Spaceflight’s SSO-A Mission Director Jeff Roberts as he commended the firm for its support of the mission. Ecliptic began its contract with Spaceflight over two years before the launch, stepping through requirements-definition and design phases, build-up of development model test versions of the system, and finally build-up and environmental testing of the flight units. As part of the overall effort, Ecliptic opened a new wiring harness lab and for over a year and a half designed, fabricated and tested over two miles of test and flight harnesses.

“Programmatically and technically, this was a very challenging effort,” said Ecliptic’s COO Riki Munakata, who also served as Project Manager for the contract. “The hardware, software and harnessing designs had to be flexible enough to deal with many changes in the SSO-A payload manifest during the course of the contract, and we knew that the overall operation ultimately had to be flawless for the mission to succeed 100%.”

About Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation: Ecliptic, a privately held firm based in Pasadena, California, provides space avionics and sensor systems to commercial, civil and defense-related markets in the U.S. and abroad. Its popular RocketCam™ family of onboard video systems provides improved situational awareness on rockets and spacecraft, while its variants of experiment and payload control avionics manage complex sequencing, monitoring, datahandling and data-routing functions for a wide range of mission applications. Ecliptic also supports selected small satellite- and CubeSat-class engineering, integration, testing and operations activities, including hosted payload accommodations. See more at http://www.EclipticEnterprises.com. RocketCam™ is a trademark of Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation.

About Spaceflight: Spaceflight is revolutionizing the business of spaceflight by delivering a new model for accessing space. A comprehensive launch services and mission management provider, the company provides a straightforward and cost-effective suite of products and services including state-of-the-art satellite infrastructure and rideshare launch offerings that enable commercial and government entities to achieve their mission goals on time and on budget. A service offering of Spaceflight Industries, Inc. in Seattle, Spaceflight provides its services through a global network of partners and launch vehicle providers. For more information, visit http://www.spaceflight.com.

Amateur/Student Satellite, Education, Space Systems

Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – Jan.27.2019

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

** From Basement to Orbit – A New Class of Personal Satellites by Joe Latrell — Kickstarter – Crowdfunding the launch of a picosat PocketQube.

Development is nearly complete. The design for the PocketQube is finalized, and the hardware is now functional. There are still some integration processes and software work to do along with various testing requirements. We are also in the process of getting our licensing with the FCC, ITU, and other government agencies. We have spent nearly $50,000 getting to this point. To take it across the finish line, we need to raise $50,000 more. Our plan is to launch Discovery in 2019 into a 500 km (310 miles) Sun synchronous orbit. This location gives the Discovery optimal viewing of the Earth and makes it easier for us to retrieve data and upload new instructions. But in order to be ready to fly, we have to finish a lot of fine details between now and then.

More at Kickstarter campaign starts to finance launch of garage-built cubesat | Behind The Black.

** Winner Announced for the 2018 Altair Feko Student Competition – HPC Wire – Design of a CubeSat antenna by Didier Goulet-Tran, an under-graduate student from Polytechnique Montreal, Canada, wins student tech contest-

Goulet-Tran’s entry utilized Feko to design planar reflect array antenna, where the whole antenna system can be folded on one side of the satellite and saving space for CubeSat application. The challenge in the design of reflect array is to choose the shape of the printed surfaces to form a collimated beam over a reasonable bandwidth. The designed reflect array was fabricated and its performance validated using measurements in anechoic chamber achieving a bandwidth of 6.5%.

** JAXA launches its first startup-built satellite RAPIS-1 & 6 other satellites | SpaceTech Asia – Japanese launch included the following university smallsats:

  1. AOBE-VELOX-4, a 2U cubesat designed by Japan’s Kyutech and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to observe and image the Lunar Horizon Glow
  2. Hodoyoshi 2 or RISESat (Rapid International Scientific Experiment Satellite), a 50-kg satellite developed  by the University of Tokyo, and carrying 8 international scientific payloads
  3. OrigamiSat 1, a 3U Cubesat with a membrane deployment system, by Tokyo Institute of Technology (TITech), and
  4. NEXUS, a 1U cubesat for amateur radio, designed at Nihon University in collaboration with Japan AMSAT Association (JAMSAT).

** Sky is no limit for students at Space Kidz India – The Sunday Guardian Live – A recent launch of India’s PSLV included the secondary payload Kalamsat-V2, a student-built cubesat for technology demos.

HYDERABAD: When minutes after the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s PSLV-C44 rocket soared into skies at 11.39 pm on Thursday, Chairman Dr K. Sivan congratulated one and all in his teams, but importantly the students from Chennai, who made Kalamsat V2, the world’s lightest satellite that went into space along with DRDO’s Microsat and their leader Dr Srimathy Kesan.

Dr Srimathy Kesan, who runs Space Kidz India (SKI) from T. Nagar in Chennai, was the center of applause from across the country for her school boys who built the tiny cube satellite weighing just 1.2 kg. She went ecstatic with her mobile continuously getting calls and messages since Friday morning and told this newspaper on phone from Chennai that: “My dream comes true and I am overwhelmed.”

See also India’s 1st Rocket Launch of 2019 Sends 2 Satellites Into Orbit – space.com.

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects: ANS-027 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

  • OrigamiSat-1 Requests Help for Testing 5.84 GHz Downlink
  • OrigamiSat-1 Reception Challenges
  • AO-85 Operations Re-Started – Telemetry Requested
  • ARISS TV Transmitter Back on Earth for Inspection, Possible Repair
  • ARISS Officers Elected
  • Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
  • Limited ISS SSTV Scheduled for January 30 – February 1
  • Registration Open for “VHF Super Conference”
  • AMSAT 50th Anniversary Awards Program
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • NASA Administrator Addresses Furloughed Employees
  • Australia’s First Commercial Launch Facility to be Built
  • India Will Fly 100 Student Satellites
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

General CubeSat/SmallSat info:

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Amateur/Student Satellite, Education, SpaceCasts

TMRO Orbit 12.3: “The student-run space program you’ve never heard of”

The latest episode of TMRO.tv Space program:

Martin Siedorf and Martin Zietz from KSat, the University of Stuttgart Small Sat Society to talk about how students are building rocket-repair robots, sending experimental pumps to the International Space Station, launching their own satellite in 2020 and more! Which of their projects excites you the most? 

Other topics covered:

  • Fast radio bursts, is it aliens?
  • Chang’e 4 mission update

A TMRO report on recent launches:

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