New Satellites

FalconSAT-3 is Now Open for Amateur Radio Use

by

The Air Force Academy satellite FalconSAT-3 is now open for amateur radio use as a digital store-and-forward system. FalconSAT-3 was built in 2005 and 2006 by cadets and faculty in the Space Systems Research Center at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, and launched in 2007 on an Atlas V.

After serving in scientific and training roles, the Academy has now made the satellite available for Amateur radio use.

The satellite is in a 35.4 degree inclination orbit, with an approximate altitude of 465 to 476 km. The Packet Bulletin Board System is operating at 9600 baud with a 145.840 uplink, and 435.103 downlink. Output power is 1 watt, and the downlink is continuously on. Digipeating is enabled for live QSOs, but unattended digipeating operations is not authorized at this time. Current Keplerian elements can be found in the AMSAT distributed Keplerian elements.

More information can be found at https://www.amsat.org/falconsat-3/ and further operational inquiries should be directed to AMSAT Vice President Operations, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA ([email protected]).

[ANS thanks AMSAT Vice President Operations, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA for the above information]

CAMSAT CAS-4A & 4B Linear Transponder Payloads Launched

by

CAMSAT has announced the launch of its CAS-4A and CAS-4B linear transponder payloads. These payloads piggyback on the OVS-1A and OVS-1B optical remote sensing satellites, which were launched along with the hard X-ray modulation telescope (HXMT) satellite aboard a CZ-4B rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 03:00 UTC on June 15, 2017. Both satellites are in a 43 degree inclination orbit with an apogee of 524 km. The satellites should be among the following four objects from the launch, from Celestrak’s tle-new.txt:

2017-034A 
1 42758U 17034A 17166.44020951 .00000000 00000-0 00000+0 0 9996
2 42758 43.0132 296.0634 0006996 337.6257 22.4799 15.08374244 50
2017-034B 
1 42759U 17034B 17166.44014948 -.00077158 00000-0 00000+0 0 9995
2 42759 43.0111 296.0584 0007012 333.6014 26.4991 15.08628895 40
2017-034C 
1 42760U 17034C 17166.44015010 .00000000 00000-0 00000+0 0 9999
2 42760 43.0156 296.0555 0006945 344.9860 15.1295 15.08497794 52
2017-034D 
1 42761U 17034D 17166.44008307 .00000000 00000-0 00000+0 0 9991
2 42761 43.0142 296.0593 0008314 328.2359 31.8502 15.08952386 37
The OVS-1A & 1B satellites carrying the CAS-4A & 4B payloads.

Both satellites carry 20 kHz U/v linear transponders as well as CW beacons and a digital telemetry downlink. Frequency information is as follows:

CAS-4A – U/v Inverting Analog SSB/CW
Uplink LSB 435.210 MHz through 435.230 MHz
Downlink USB 145.880 MHz through 145.860 MHz
CW Beacon 145.855 MHz. Digital Telemetry 145.835 MHz 4.8kbps GMSK
CAS-4B – U/v Inverting Analog SSB/CW
Uplink LSB 435.270 MHz through 435.290 MHz
Downlink USB 145.935 MHz through 145.915 MHz
CW Beacon 145.910 MHz. Digital Telemetry 145.890 MHz 4.8 kbps GMSK

For more information about these satellites, see the CAMSAT CAS-4A and CAS-4B News Release

RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Gets the Official OK for Flight

by

The RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Mission Readiness Review was held Saturday morning, April 29th, at the Cal Poly campus in front of a board representing Tyvak, Cal Poly, and NASA.
The purpose of the review is to verify that all requirements are met for a safe and successful launch and deployment. Vice President Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, presented 81 PowerPoint slides covering all of the ICD (Interface Control Document) requirements, mission, operations, and deorbit.
At the conclusion of the presentation including questions answers, the panel unanimously approved RadFxSat as ready for flight. The next milestone will be integration into the P-POD with launch scheduled NET (No Earlier Than) September 23, 2017 aboard a Delta II at Vandenberg AFB.

RadFxSat/Fox-1B Flight Model

Phase 5 / Phase 4B 5.7 GHz LNA Prototype

by

Continued progress with the Phase 5 (CQC) and Phase 4B satellite missions –

Marc Franco, N2UO, provided these photos showing the mechanical prototype of the 5.7 GHz LNA that AMSAT is developing for the P5 (lunar) and P4B (geosynchronous) satellites.
(Unfortunately, due to ITAR restrictions, we cannot share any more details.)

lna-prototype-img_0256lna-prototype-img_0255