Category Archives: Amateur/Student Satellite

Amateur/Student Satellite, Space participation, Space Radio

AMSAT, student satellites, and space radio news – May.18.14

AMSAT News posts the latest on  developments in amateur and student satellites and for updates about amateur radio on the ISS.

ANS 138 Weekly AMSAT Bulletin – May 17, 2014:
* ARISS to the MAX
* The LituanicaSAT-1 team operational during the weekend of May 17-18
* Island of Miquelon Activation on Satellites: July 5-15 FP/KV1J
* From Holiday Inn to Outer Space
* FUNcube-1 AO-73 satellite SSB signal test
* BBC: ‘Pocket spacecrafts’ to become a reality
* 2015 NASA Aeronautics Scholarships
* NASA History Program Office Fall 2014 Internships
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

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Unfortunately, the KickSat nanosat reentered the atmosphere before it was able to release its 104 tiny Sprites chipsats.  The clock reset event reported earlier could not be undone. Project leader Zach Manchester says KickSat-2 will incorporate the lessons learned: KickSat — Your personal spacecraft in space! by Zachary Manchester » Updates — Kickstarter –

KickSat reentered the atmosphere and burned up last night some time around 9:30 PM EDT (01:30 UTC). Unfortunately, we were not able to command the Sprite deployment in time. While we are certainly disappointed that things did not go as planned, I think we still have a lot to be proud of.

Over 300 people from all over the world came together to make KickSat happen. We built a spacecraft, tested it, and launched it. Hundreds of people had their names flown in space, more than a dozen radio amateurs were able to receive signals from KickSat’s beacon radio, and volunteers collected and processed telemetry data and predicted KickSat’s orbit and reentry. This kind of participation is exactly what KickSat is all about and I’m glad we all got to share in this experience.

We’ve learned a lot from KickSat, and I plan to take those lessons and build an even better KickSat-2. This is only the beginning! Thank you all for your amazing support over the past two years. I hope you’ll stick with us as we continue to try to make space something everyone can take part in.

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Here is the audio of a BBC program about nano and pico satellites (recorded before the KickSat had its clock problem): ▶ BBC Radio 4 – Today, 15/05/2014, ‘Pocket spacecrafts’ to become a reality

Amateur/Student Satellite, Space Radio

AMSAT, student satellites and space radio news – May.11.14

Here are the latest headlines from AMSAT News about developments in amateur and student satellites and for updates about amateur radio on the ISS.

ANS 131 Weekly AMSAT Bulletin – May 10, 2014:
* Fox-1 Launch Update
* New Speaker Announced for the AMSAT Dayton Forum
* KC8YLD to Address Instructors, Youth at Dayton Hamvention
* ARRL’s ETP Feature Space Topics at Hamvention
* Delfi-n3Xt: 2405 MHz Downlink Test
* FUNcube-1 AO-73 satellite SSB signal test
* Future FUNcube missions – 2014 launch dates
* Two QB50 satellites with ham radio payloads delivered
* KickSat Sprite deployment may not happen
* Delfi-C3 celebrates 6 years in space
* Upcoming AMSAT Events
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts from All Over

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Amateur/Student Satellite, Space Radio

AMSAT, student sat and space radio news – May.4.14

Go to AMSAT News for the latest about developments in amateur and student satellites and for updates about amateur radio on the ISS. Here are today’s headlines:

ANS 124 Weekly AMSAT Bulletin – May 4, 2014:
* LituanicaSAT-1 FM Transponder Operation Feedback
* BOOK NOW FOR THE SA AMSAT SPACE SYMPOSIUM ON 24 MAY
* Eighth Annual AMSAT/TAPR Banquet Reservations Close May 13th
* UK CubeSat Workshop: Student Research Pitches
* Ham Radio Earth-Moon-Earth Art Event on Google+ Hangout
* HAMSAT – VO-52 Completes 9 Years in Space
* Commercial HDTV Streaming Live from ISS
* AMSAT Office Relocated; Reopens
* AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention — Last call for volunteers
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over

Other smallsat, space radio news:

  • KickSat’s Current Status — Kickstarter – 104 Sprite chipsats may fail to be released before the cubesat deorbits:

    “One consequence of the watchdog reset on KickSat is that the spacecraft’s master clock was reset, thus also setting the deployment countdown for KickSat back to 16 days. That would put the deployment some time in the morning of May 16th. Unfortunately, it looks like KickSat will most likely reenter and burn up before the 16th. We’ve spent the last couple of days here at Cornell trying to think of every possible contingency, but it seems there aren’t very many options right now. KickSat’s uplink radio, which we could use to command the deployment, can’t turn on unless the batteries reach 8 volts, and it doesn’t look like they’ll reach that level in time.

    While the situation looks a little bleak, there is still some hope that the batteries may recharge sufficiently to command the satellite. There is also a small chance that KickSat could remain in orbit until the 16th, at which point the timer would set off the deployment as originally planned. We’ll continue tracking KickSat over the next few days with the help of the ham community, so that we can keep track of its battery voltage and the Sprite deployment status.”

  • The K7RA Solar Update – ARRL
Amateur/Student Satellite, Space participation, Space Radio

AMSAT, student satellites and space radio news – Apri.27.14

Read AMSAT News for the latest developments in amateur and student satellites and for updates on amateur radio aboard the ISS.

ANS 117 Weekly AMSAT Bulletin – April 27, 2014:
* AMSAT-NA Office Relocation Underway
* 2014 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice
* GS3PYE/P Isle of Lewis Operations Start April 26
* Top 10 Reasons to Come to Dayton
* ARISS News

Other smallsat and space radio news:

Activism, Amateur/Student Satellite, Space Systems

B612 Foundation: Webcast briefing today + Video shows asteroid impacts since year 2000

The B612 Foundation today released the video below and will be webcasting a news conference from Seattle at 2:30 pm EST (11:30 am PST) to discuss it. Here is their description of the video:

Between 2000 and 2013, a network of sensors that monitors Earth around the clock listening for the infrasound signature of nuclear detonations detected 26 explosions on Earth ranging in energy from 1-600 kilotons – all caused not by nuclear explosions, but rather by asteroid impacts.

These findings were recently released from the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, which operates the network.

To put this data in perspective, the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945 exploded with an energy impact of 15 kilotons. While most of these asteroids exploded too high in the atmosphere to do serious damage on the ground, the evidence is important in estimating the frequency of a potential “city-killer-size” asteroid.

For more information on this data, please check out our Impact Video FAQ.