5 New ham radio satellites launched

Started by WA4STO, October 06, 2012, 10:42:55 AM

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WA4STO

Guess I had read where the International Space Station was about to kick out five more amateur radio satellites, but I had forgotten until I read the W1AW bulletin this morning:



SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS005
ARLS005 Space Station Deploys Five CubeSats

ZCZC AS05 
QST de W1AW 
Space Bulletin 005  ARLS005
>From ARRL Headquarters 
Newington, CT  October 5, 2012
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS005
ARLS005 Space Station Deploys Five CubeSats

Five research CubeSats - all with Amateur Radio communication
systems - were successfully deployed from the International Space
Station beginning around 1430 UTC today. The satellites were
launched from the Kibo station module using a specially equipped
robotic arm.

The group includes:

TechEdSat, a collaboration among NASA's Ames Research Center; San
Jose State University; the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB) and
the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will be sending AX.25
packet telemetry at 437.465 MHz. The TechEdSat team is asking for
assistance from amateurs in decoding and relaying data. Follow the
mission on their Twitter page at, http://twitter.com/TechEdSat.
More information about decoding and submitting packet data is
available on their website.

FITSAT-1, designed and built at the Fukuoka Institute of Technology,
Japan, will test the feasibility of high-speed microwave data
downlinks in low Earth orbit. It will transmit telemetry on 437.445
MHz and 5.84 GHz. They welcome signal reports from amateurs at their
website at, http://turing.cs.fit.ac.jp/~fitsat/.

WE WISH, from the Meisei Electric Company Radio Club, Japan, will
send CW telemetry and occasional SSTV images at 437.505 MHz.

RAIKO, designed and built by students at Wakayama University, Japan,
will transmit high-speed data at 2.2 and 13 GHz.

F-1, built by students at FPT University in Hanoi, Vietnam will send
telemetry at 145.980 and 437.485 MHz using 1200-baud packet and CW.
Amateurs are asked to monitor and submit reports. More information
can be found at, http://fspace.edu.vn/?page_id=27.
NNNN
/EX


Nice to see more and more of the birds which are transmitting telemetry in CW.  But from a bird built in Hanoi?  My how the world changes with every rotation, bringing us all yet closer together.

gil

The Fukuoka satellite will be particularly easy to aim your antenna at, due to a faint glow visible with the naked eye...

I wish that was funny, but actually, it's pretty grim humor...

Gil.

cockpitbob

I'm glad to see more birds flying.  However I do wish they would put some more FM repeater birds.  Several have died in the past few years and I believe there's only 2 left that can be worked with an HT and hand held antenna.  These telemetry sats are cute but won't spark too much activity.

gil

The problem with these satellites is that you just have enough time to exchange call signs, and what's the use of that...?

Gil.

cockpitbob

 
Quote from: gil on October 07, 2012, 06:14:49 PM
The problem with these satellites is that you just have enough time to exchange call signs, and what's the use of that...?

Gil.
From a practical standpoint, you are right.  The longest ragchew I ever had was maybe 2 sentenses late at night when the bird wasn't busy.  From an emotional stanpoint, if your are a space junkie it is wicked cool knowing that I'm talking off a repeater several hundred miles up in space, wizzing along at 14,000mph.  And I'm doing it with 5W and aiming the antenna with my hand.

AE5J

#5
QuoteI'm glad to see more birds flying.  However I do wish they would put some more FM repeater birds.  Several have died in the past few years and I believe there's only 2 left that can be worked with an HT and hand held antenna.  These telemetry sats are cute but won't spark too much activity.
Exactly. In fact, they won't generate much interest from me at all. I would rather record the local NOAA weather radio broadcast and mail a copy to someone who is interested.  :o

I wonder if there is any real world application for all the experimentation beyond scholarly research? If I had the monetary backing and expertise, I would be working on large geo-sync orbit birds with high gain antennas that would provide hemisphere-wide ham communications. It seems to me this dream was the glittering orb dangled in front of a lot of people's eyes many years ago to start the funding. That dream becoming a reality, might just revitalize ham radio world wide. It would certainly make my cellphone seem silly. Just my opinon, anyway.

AE5J

QuoteI'm talking off a repeater several hundred miles up in space, wizzing along at 14,000mph.  And I'm doing it with 5W and aiming the antenna with my hand.
Ah Haa...Now we know why all these birds fall silent!!!

QuoteIn order for a satellite to successfully orbit the Earth, it must travel a horizontal distance of 8000 meters before falling a vertical distance of 5 meters. Since a horizontally-launched projectile falls a vertical distance of 5 meters in its first second of motion, an orbiting projectile must be launched with a horizontal speed of 8000 meters per second or 17, 895 miles per hour.

Just funnin' with you. It is a fascinating subject - talking through a repeater on a satellite.
73....Pete

gil

If those satellites could forward email, now that would be something...

Gil.