Month: February 2024

Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency

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AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

ANS-033
February 2, 2024

In this edition:

  • Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.

The news feed on https://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

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Request to Reconsider Decommissioning of IO-117 Under Evaluation by Italian Space Agency

Moments ago, the AMSAT News Service received the following announcement from AMSAT Italia regarding IO-117 (GreenCube):

AMSAT Italia would like to inform the amateur community that its request to the Italian Space Agency, the owner of the GREENCUBE satellite, to reconsider its decision of decommissioning the satellite is under evaluation.

Waiting for its decision, IO-117 is still operational.

The GreenCube satellite was born as a scientific experiment placed in MEO orbit which successfully concluded its mission.

IO-117 is the HAM Radio part of the satellite consisting of a digipeter which was promoted by AMSAT Italia and coordinated by IARU-R1.

At the moment AMSAT Italia is committed to promoting the continuation of the mission for the HAM Radio part of Greencube.

AMSAT Italia BoD

[ANS thanks AMSAT Italia for the above information]

Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/

In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to:

  • Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization).
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Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information.

73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space!

This week’s ANS Contributing Editor,

Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
n8hm [at] amsat.org

ANS is a service of AMSAT, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653, Washington, DC 20002

AMSAT CubeSatSim Beta Release – v1.3

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You might have heard about it or seen it at Hamvention or Symposium, but the official release of the new Beta CubeSatSim hardware and software is finally here!!

The new beta PCB board set v1.3 is shown in Figure 1, the new board stack is shown in Figure 2, and the new frame and solar panels is in Figure 3.

 

Figure 1. AMSAT CubeSatSim Beta PCB Board Set.  From left to right, battery board, STEM Payload board, and Solar board (the replacement for the Main board)

Figure 2. AMSAT CubeSatSim Beta Board Stack

 

Figure 3. AMSAT CubSatSim Beta Frame and Solar Panels

Here are some links to information about the Beta release:

The software for the beta release is here:  https://CubeSatSim.org/beta

The beta wiki instructions are here: https://CubeSatSim.org/wiki-beta

The beta Bill of Materials (BOM) is here: https://CubeSatSim.org/bom-beta

The beta hardware files are here: https://CubeSatSim.org/hardware-beta

The beta frame STL files for 3D printing are here: https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/tree/beta/hardware/frame/v1.3.2

Information about the latest beta software release is here: https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/releases/tag/v1.3.2

The AMSAT CubeSatSim is a low-cost, fully functional open source model of a CubeSat nano-satellite.  It has the following features:

  • Working solar panels and rechargeable batteries
  • Multi-channel voltage, current, and temperature telemetry transmitted in the Amateur Radio UHF band generated by a Raspberry Pi Zero single board computer
  • Telemetry decoding using AMSAT’s FoxTelem software or APRS software
  • STEM Payload board with Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller with sensors
  • Tape measure dipole or SMA antenna with integrated Low Pass Filter
  • 3D printed frame

Here is a summary of the changes with the new beta hardware and software:

  • New FM transceiver module for better frequency stability and simple command and control receiver to change telemetry modes using RF
  • More modern and cheaper Raspberry Pi Pico micro controller on STEM Payload board
  • Easily connect additional sensors for the Pico or Pi using the Qwiic connector system (https://www.sparkfun.com/qwiic )
  • SSTV camera images now display callsign and battery status overlay
  • Can be modified to fly as a balloon payload with 500mW FM output for SSTV, APRS, or CW transmissions with software support on Pico for a serial GPS module
  • Lower parts cost and easier to source. All parts can now be sourced from electronics distributors and Amazon including easy to find solar panels.  New BOM uses Octopart electronic part inventory site with one click distributor ordering (https://CubeSatSim.org/bom-beta)
  • Redesigned for blue INA219 voltage and current sensors instead of more expensive purple ones
  • Battery board now has integrated voltage and current sensor
  • Simpler electrical power system with no boost converter or charge control modules
  • Kits can be built with through hole parts except for a few surface mount parts.  Fully assembled boards will hopefully be available in the future using SMT parts
  • Transmit and receive frequencies easily configurable from default 434.9 MHz and 435 MHz

During this beta period, we ask for your help in testing the new hardware and software and making sure that all the instructions and documentation are accurate.  To help with this, I am pleased to announce that past purchasers of the CubeSatSim v1 PCB board sets are eligible for a free beta v1.3.2 set of PCB boards.  Just email me ku2y at arrl.net! I will verify the order and ship you a new set of 3 blank boards.  The boards will have the surface mount components already mounted.  The first one hundred who contact me in the next three months will be eligible to receive them.  For other orders, you will be able to choose between the v1 boards or the new beta v1.3.2 boards.

73,

Alan Johnston, PhD
KU2Y
AMSAT Vice President for Educational Relations

P.S. AMSAT has CubeSatSim Loaners available to ship to your event or presentation or STEM outreach activity – just contact me if you have an upcoming event email at ku2y at arrl.net or on social media at @[email protected]