{"id":20131,"date":"2019-11-03T11:15:44","date_gmt":"2019-11-03T16:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=20131"},"modified":"2019-11-03T10:58:15","modified_gmt":"2019-11-03T15:58:15","slug":"student-and-amateur-cubesat-news-roundup-nov-3-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=20131","title":{"rendered":"Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – Nov.3.2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

** NG Cygnus<\/a> carries HuskySat-1<\/a>, built by Univ. Washington students, to ISS<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

HuskySat-1 is a 3U CubeSat<\/a> designed, built, and tested by the Husky Satellite Lab. HuskySat-1’s goal is to test two experimental payloads, a Pulsed Plasma Thruster<\/a>, and a high-frequency K-band communication system<\/a>, as well as hosting an Amateur Radio Linear Transponder<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

HuskySat-1 is being developed by an interdisciplinary team at the University of Washington and will be launched into Low Earth Orbit to become the first amateur satellite from Washington state. This CubeSat will demonstrate the capabilities of new technologies being developed at the University of Washington and expand the capabilities of CubeSats as a whole. In particular, a high-thrust pulsed plasma thruster (PPT)<\/a>, and high-gain communications system<\/a> will form the core technology suite on board the satellite. The HuskySat-1 will also be flying a newly developed Amateur Radio Linear Transponder developed by AMSAT which will contribute to the worldwide communication networks built and operated by ham radio enthusiasts.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"HuskySat-1\"<\/a>
HuskySat-1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More about the project: Washington\u2019s first student-built satellite preparing for launch | UW News<\/a><\/p>\n

Some of the student-built parts will still be in test mode. A custom-built thruster uses sparks to vaporize small amounts of solid sulfur as a propellant. The thruster will fire about 100 times as the satellite passes over Seattle, only enough thrust to provide a slight nudge. A high-bandwidth communications system built by former graduate student Paul Sturmer, now at Blue Origin, transmits at 24 Gigahertz, allowing the satellite to quickly send reams of data. That system will send down a test packet from space.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cUsually people buy most of the satellite and build one part of it. We built all the parts,\u201d Northway said. \u201cIt was a pretty serious undertaking.\u201d<\/p>\n