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 Previous: FCC Cites Possible Ham License Hijacking in Initiating Hearing Proceeding |  Next: ARRL Executive Committee Okays Revised Band Plans for 80/75, 40 and 15 |
Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, gives the ANDE satellite a "final tweak" at the US Naval Academy's Satellite Laboratory. [USNA Satellite Laboratory Photos] |
Bob Bruninga, WB4APR (left) and satellite lab midshipmen pose with the RAFT-1 and MARScomm CubeSats. |
Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, with RAFT-1. |
An interior look at MARScomm. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 13, 2006 -- The earliest possible launch date for the GeneSat-1 satellite, which carries an Amateur Radio payload, is Saturday, December 16, from Wallops Island, Virginia. Problems with testing of TacSat-2, the primary satellite aboard the Minotaur launch vehicle, forced NASA to postpone the launch, originally scheduled for December 11. A collaboration of NASA Ames Research Center, industry and local universities, the GeneSat-1 CubeSat will transmit AX.25 1200 bps FM/AFSK telemetry on 437.075 MHz. The space shuttle Discovery carried four other ham radio payloads to the International Space Station for deployment later this month.
To foster interest within the amateur community and to support Amateur Radio and space technology outreach to secondary and higher education student groups, the GeneSat University Mission Ops Team is sponsoring a contest. The Grand Prize will permit the winner to chose a college or university to receive a satellite tracking station. It will go to the station logging 12 or more data packets each from the greatest number of satellite passes during the experiment.
The First Contact Prize will recognize the station submitting the first packet after transmissions initiate. The first 20 stations to post packets will receive mission pins and a certificate of recognition; and anyone submitting at least one packet gets an electronic GeneSat-1 QSL card.
Additional information on GeneSat-1 and other CubeSats is on the Amateur Radio Information and Support for CubeSats Web site maintained by Ralph Wallio, W0RPK. Rocket launches from the Wallops Flight Facility are available live via the Web, starting approximately 30 minutes before launch.
Other Ham Radio Payloads Go into Space aboard Discovery
Meanwhile, four other Amateur Radio satellite payloads went into space with the shuttle Discovery, launched December 9 and now docked with the ISS. They'll be deployed from the space station on December 20. The ANDE (Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment) and RAFT (Radar Fence Transponder) and MARScom satellites all contain systems involving student projects. Midshipmen at the US Naval Academy's Satellite Laboratory designed and built RAFT and MARScom and the ANDE communication package under the tutelage of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR. The fourth satellite, FCal (Fence Calibration satellite), was built at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) It contains an Amateur Radio CubeSat for communications and telemetry.
The Amateur Radio payload within the ANDE satellite will contain two independent AX.25 packet command and telemetry systems. The primary system will operate like PCsat and PCSAT2, providing telemetry and supporting 1200 bps packet communication (ie, digipeater operation) on 145.825 MHz. The secondary will operate on unpublished frequencies.
Bruninga says midshipmen had to rebuild the ANDE communication package from scratch after the finished modules "were burned to a crisp" the day before delivery by a heat-chamber thermostat failure.
"This project has taken multiple years to complete and the current team has taken the work of past students and moved forward with it," Bruninga explains.
RAFT-1 will have a PSK31 uplink passband of 28.117 to 28.120 MHz as well as a UHF telecommand uplink. The 145.825 MHz uplink/downlink frequency will support 1200 bps packet communication.
RAFT also will provide a 217 MHz transmitter/receiver for the NSSS radar fence experiments. Radio amateurs will be able to listen to the signal as the satellite crosses the National Space Surveillance Satellite Network (NSSS) radar-tracking system.
MARScom will operate on Navy-Marine Corps Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) frequencies. It will feature a UHF AM uplink, a VHF FM uplink and an HF SSB downlink (27.965 MHz). The initial operations plan for MARScom is to have ground stations hone their downlink tuning skills by transmitting occasional packets on the 148.975 MHz FM uplink.
FCal's downlink frequency will be 437.385 MHz (AX.25 AFSK 1200 bps packet). It will identify as KD4HBO.
| Previous: FCC Cites Possible Ham License Hijacking in Initiating Hearing Proceeding | Next: ARRL Executive Committee Okays Revised Band Plans for 80/75, 40 and 15 |
