The Glenn Lightsey Research Group’s Space Systems Design Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology is sponsoring a 1U CubeSat mission that will include a digital robot. The primary function of the GT-1 satellite is to serve as an educational proof of concept and satellite bus demonstrator. Georgia Tech will use this mission as an opportunity for undergraduates to get involved in all facets of a space mission, from design to implementation and support.

GT-1 will test a prototype deployable antenna and solar panels, which can be used for future missions derived from the same baseline design, and with inclusion of additional experimental equipment. It will operate with AX.25 protocol telemetry.

In partnership with the W4AQL Georgia Tech Amateur Radio Club, the satellite will also host a digital contact robot payload, inspired by the earlier Russian RS-12 and RS-13 satellites of the early 1990s. GT-1 will collect contact information from stations that contact the robot as it orbits. The satellite will also function as a standard digipeater. Plans call for a deployment from the International Space Station in October. — Thanks to AMSAT News Service