ARRL

Register Account

Login Help

ARRL Satellite Bulletin ARLS002 (2014)

SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS002
ARLS002 More CubeSats Expected to Deploy from ISS This Week

ZCZC AS02  
QST de W1AW  
Space Bulletin 002  ARLS002
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington, CT  February 24, 2014
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS002
ARLS002 More CubeSats Expected to Deploy from ISS This Week

Another batch of CubeSats is set for deployment February 25 from the
International Space Station, but no Amateur Radio satellites are
expected to be among them. They may be put into orbit later in the
week, however. According to NASA, astronaut Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA,
last week prepared the second batch of NanoRacks CubeSats for
deployment.

"Wakata opened the inner hatch to the airlock and replaced the empty
deployers on the Multipurpose Experiment Platform with loaded
deployers," NASA reported. "The platform and its deployers will be
passed outside through the airlock to the Exposed Facility, where
Kibo's robotic arm can grapple the platform and position the
nanosatellites for launch." NanoRacks provides CubeSat deployment
services through an agreement with NASA.

It's anticipated that a dozen commercial Planet Labs CubeSats will
be released into orbit on February 25. Four Amateur Radio CubeSats -
LituanicaSat-1, LitSat-1, ArduSat-2, and UAPSat-1, along with the
915 MHz SkyCube - may be deployed February 28. CubeSats deployments
are streamed live at, http://m.ustream.tv/channel/live-iss-stream .

AMSAT-UK has reported that it's unclear whether another Amateur
Radio CubeSat, the Peruvian Chasqui 1, which was sent to the ISS on
February 5, also will be deployed on February 28.

Eight NanoRacks deployers are installed on the Multi-Purpose
Experiment Platform. Each deployer can hold up to six 1U (a unit =
10x10x10 centimeters) CubeSats or two 3U CubeSats. Two 3U CubeSats
(6U total) can be deployed every one to two orbits to prevent
collisions.

LituanicaSAT-1 carries an FM transponder: Uplink 145.950
MHz/Downlink 435.180 MHz. It also has an AX.25 transponder: Uplink
145.850 MHz/Downlink 437.550 MHz. The CW beacon is on 437.275 MHz.

LitSat-1 carries an SSB transponder: Uplink 435.180 MHz/Downlink
145.950 MHz, and an AX.25 packet transponder: Uplink 437.550
MHz/Downlink 145.850 MHz.

ArduSat-2 will transmit 9.6 MSK CCSDS data on a 437 MHz downlink.

UAPSAT will carry an AX.25 packet transponder: Uplink 145.980
MHz/Downlink 437.385 MHz.

Chasqui-1 will transmit AX.25 format data on 437.250 MHz.

AMSAT-UK has reported that, in addition to the CubeSat deployments
from the ISS, seven Japanese Amateur Radio satellites are scheduled
to launch February 27 at 1807 UTC.

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) project
- the ARISS-EU "Ham Video" system - is tentatively set to begin the
commissioning process no sooner than the second weekend in March.
Ham radio-related activities aboard the ISS typically take a low
priority on the astronauts' work agenda.
NNNN
/EX

EXPLORE ARRL

Instragram     Facebook     Twitter     YouTube     LinkedIn