Category: Ham Satellite news

ARISSat-1/KEDR Goes Silent

Reception reports indicate that ARISSat-1/KEDR has stopped trans-
mitting on Wednesday, January 4, 2012. The last full telemetry 
captured and reported to the ARISSatTLM web site at 06:02:14 UTC 
on January 4 were received from ground stations as the satellite 
passed over Japan.

See: http://www.arissattlm.org/live (full telemetry display)
See: http://www.arissattlm.org/mobile (condensed telemetry)

Telemetry reports showed that the temperature aboard ARISSat-1/KEDR 
had been rising as atmospheric drag began to affect the satellite.
Final temperatures received via ARISSatTLM reported this data:

IHU           75 ° C / 167.0 ° F
PSU           76 ° C / 168.8 ° F
RF            88 ° C / 190.4 ° F
Control Panel 61 ° C / 141.8 ° F
Experiment    64 ° C / 147.2 ° F

Tracking data from Space Command gave a Predicted Decay Time 0700 GMT 
± 3 Hours on January 4. Telemetry report narrows the impact time 
window to about 4 hours. The predicted decay location is 12.7° S, 
354.3° E, an open part of the South Atlantic, well west of Angola. 
Send reports to the amsat-bb If you heard the satellite, even briefly, 
after 0600 UTC. This will help confirm the actual impact point.

Stations receiving telemetry from ARISSat-1 at any time over the 
last few months, please forward all of your .CSV telemetry files 
to telemetry AT arissattlm.org.

Konstantin, RN3ZF sent a reception report of his copy of the 0842 UTC 
pass that, "the telemetry was absent, voice messages were not legible, 
very silent and interrupted. Most likely, I saw last minutes in the 
life of the satellite."

Dee, NB2F reported, "Nothing heard from ARISSat-1/KEDR on any fre-
quency during the first USA pass at 16:00 UTC, January 4."

ARISSat-1/KEDR was deployed from the International Space Station on
August 3, 2011 during during EVA-29 on by Cosmonaut/Flight Engineers 
Sergei Volkov and Alexander Samokutyaev.

The satellite carried a student experiment from Kursk State University
in Russia which measured atmospheric density. Students from around the
world provided the voices for the FM voice announcements.

The amateur radio payload aboard ARISSat-1/KEDR achieved many "firsts"
for amateur radio in space:

+ First flight test of AMSAT Software Defined Transponder which trans-
  mitted simultaneous:

  - FM voice downlink cycling between student messages, spoken
    telemetry and SSTV from cameras on the spaceframe.

  - 16KHz bandwith linear transponder, 

  - CW beacon with telemetry and callsigns of radio amateurs noting
    their significant contributions to amateur radio in space.

  - Robust, forward error corrected 1K rate BPSK downlink with sat-
    ellite telemetry and Kursk experiment telemetry.

+ Development and release of the ARISSatTLM software for PC and Mac
  platforms enabled amateur stations worldwide with reliable reception
  of the BPSK telemetry, CW telemetry, display on the station's com-
  puter, and automatic upload of received data via the internet to the
  ARISSat engineering team.

+ A new Integrated Housekeeping Unit was developed and successfully
  flown.

+ A new Power Management System was developed and successfully
  flown.

AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW noted, ARISSat-1/KEDR marked a 
new type of satellite which has captured the attention of the national 
space agencies around the world for the unique educational opportunity 
we have been able to design, launch, and operate. By designing an edu-
cational mission aligned with NASA's Science, Technology, Engineering, 
and Mathematics goals amateur radio operators around the world have 
been able enjoy a new satellite in orbit."

ARISSat-1/KEDR Project Manager, Gould Smith, WA4SXM said, "Dozens of 
amateur radio volunteers, AMSAT, ARRL, NASA, and Energia teamed up for 
this successful mission to bring you the most unique and innovative 
amateur radio satellite mission. Congratulations to all who made 
ARISSat-1 successful!"

The Official ARISSat-1/KEDR web page: http://www.arissat1.org/
See DK3WN SatBlog for last signal report received by Tetsu san, 
JA0CAW in Japan:  http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=25125

[ANS thanks the ARISSat-1/KEDR Team for the above information]

Nu har NASA proberna Grail A och B placerat sig i bana runt Månen för att med stor precision utforska månen.

Mera information på  http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/grail/main/index.html

Det är flera månstudsstationer som har hört signalerna på frekvenserna 2279.503 samt 2280.592.

Den lilla satelliten som skickades ut från ISS är nu på väg in i atmosfären och har säkerligen inte lång tid kvar. Under nyårshelgen har den vid solbelysning sänt röstmeddelanden samt telemetri och fina SSTV bilder.

En satellitamatör som satsat hårt på att dokumentera trafik och bilder från satelliten är Mike DK3WN som har en mycket bra hemsida.   http://www.dk3wn.info/sat/afu/sat_arissat.shtml

AMSAT-SM önskar ett Gott Nytt År! Vi fortsätter att förmedla satellitnyheter under 2012 och hoppas att det blir mycket aktivitet på alla de små amatörradiosatelliter som finns till vårt förfogande.

Mvh AMSAT-SM styrelse

Nu är det dax att hjälpa till att få upp nya Fox-1 satelliten!  Se nedan info från AMSAT-NA.

Help AMSAT to Fly Fox-1: Solar Panel Campaign Begins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 359.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 25, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-359.01

As AMSAT embarks on the Fox-1 Project, here is an opportunity to
literally put your callsign on the Fox hardware. AMSAT is looking
for major donations to help underwrite the cost of solar cells/
panels, one of the more significant expenses of the project. These
solar cells are needed for the flight unit as well as for the a
flight spare. As Fox-1 will have solar cells on all six sides of
the spacecraft and given the relatively small surface area avail-
able on each side (at most 4″ by 4″ per side), AMSAT will invest in
high efficiency solar cells to gain as much power as possible to
operate the spacecraft.

To protect the installed solar panels prior to launch, a lexan cover
for each side will be fabricated and mounted to protect the cells.
Prior to placement of the flight spacecraft into the ‘P-Pod’ that
will house the cubesats on the launch vehicle, the lexan covers will
be removed.

“Friends of Fox” are encouraged to consider several levels of fund-
ing support:

1. Donate $1,000 to support purchase of one panel that will cover
one side of the spacecraft.

2. Donate $6,500 to support the purchase of six sets of solar panels
to cover the entire spacecraft.

Donors who contribute at these levels will have their callsign etched
on the lexan cover protecting solar panels of the flight unit and the
flight spare. Following the launch of Fox-1, donors will receive the
lexan solar panel cover with their callsign for ‘their’ solar panel
mounted on a plaque commemorating their contribution to the Fox-1
project and highlighting the purpose of the lexan cover. A letter of
authenticity will be provided attesting to the use of the lexan cover
to help protect the solar panels.

Other potential donor levels are also available:

1. Donate $500 for one solar cell (two cells make up a ‘panel’ on
one side of the spacecraft).

2. Donate $250 for one-half of a solar cell (one-quarter of the
solar panel for one side of the spacecraft.

Donors contributing at these levels will receive a letter affirming
their contribution, including specifying which side of the spacecraft
‘their’ cells are located.

If you’re interested in supporting AMSAT’s need to purchase solar
cells, please return the Fox-1 fundraisingform sent to members. We
expect significant interest so make your donation NOW to take full
advantage of this donation opportunity.

Additional donation opportunities may be found at:

+ Call Martha at the AMSAT Office +1-888-FB AMSAT (1-888-322-6728)
+ Paypal donation widget on the main page at: http://www.amsat.org
+ Paypal donation widget for Project Fox at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fox/
+ You can also go to the Paypal site and send your donation to
martha@amsat.org.
+ The AMSAT Store: http://www.amsat-na.com/store/categories.php

All donations over $40 will receive a Fox pin. Donations of $120 or
more qualify you for AMSAT President’s Club

[ANS thanks AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW for the above
information]