Description

CubeSatSim Beta Kit

 

$400 including shipping (to US mailing addresses only)

If you enter a non-United States address for shipping, we will refund the purchase and close the order

 

This kit allows you to build a CubeSat Simulator with minimal soldering and some assembly.

CubeSatSim is a low-cost satellite emulator that runs on solar panels and batteries, transmits UHF radio telemetry, has a 3D printed frame, and can be extended by additional sensors and modules. It is perfect for the classroom or for public demonstrations.

This item contains:

• All three PCBs (STEM Payload, Solar, and Battery Boards) fully assembled and tested with all components soldered in
• Raspberry Pi Zero WH with a Pi Camera and fully programmed micro-SD card and a fully programmed Raspberry Pi Pico WH
• AMSAT logo Remove Before Flight tag switch
• Four-piece 3D printed frame and nylon screws and nuts, ready for you to assemble with included mini screwdriver
• Metal standoffs, stacking headers, and JST jumpers ready for you to stack the PCBs and the Pi Zero WH into the board stack
• 10 solar panels, JST connectors, and double stick mounting tape, ready for you to solder the JST wires to the panels and mount them using the tape on the frame
• BME280 pressure, temperature, altitude, and humidity sensor, and MPU6050 IMU/gyro ready for you to solder the male pin headers so you can plug them into the sockets on the STEM Payload Board
• Two 6″ SMA coax cables and two SMA antennas for you to connect to the STEM Payload board and the frame
• Instruction sheet with parts inventory and link to the online instructions.

The approximate time for you to complete the kit by soldering the solar panels and sensor pin headers, and assembling the board stack and frame is less than two hours.  You will need a soldering iron, solder, scissors, and an included mini Phillips screw driver.

The current Beta v1.3 CubeSatSim has some improvements over the v1.2 version, including an FM transceiver, Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller, and RF command and control.  You can also modify it to fly as a 500mW high altitude balloon payload.

You can see all the updates here: https://www.amsat.org/amsat-cubesatsim-beta-release-v1-3/

For those who like to solder the components and 3D print their own frame, we also have the Beta v1.3 blank PCB sets available at the AMSAT Store for $35:  https://www.amsat.org/product/amsat-cubesatsim-pcb/ You will need to purchase the rest of the parts from Digikey and Amazon for approximately $300 using the Bill of Materials https://CubeSatSim.org/bom-beta.

Resources:

• Kit instructions: https://CubeSatSim.org/kit-beta
• Kit videos: https://CubeSatSim.org/kit-videos-beta
• Discussion Forum on CubeSatSim on GitHub: https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/discussions
• Operating Quick Start Guide: https://CubeSatSim.org/qsg-beta

For additional information about the CubeSatSim or to borrow a loaner CubeSat Simulator for your event, contact the VP Educational Relations via email ku2y at arrl dot net.