April 2008 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Cute1 telemetry
by Alan Cresswell 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

Hiroki, I copied some CW from Cute 1 but it was not obvious where to send it so I will post it here. 1006UT CUTE 87 CB A7 69 3C 2D 29 AC 4F 26 17 1008UT CUTE 87 CA A7 69 3C 2D 29 AC ?C 29 17 1012UT (Fade) 8 CB A5 69 3C 2C 2A AC 51 2E 17 1014UT CUTE 86 C6 A5 68 3C 2C 29 A.. (LOS) Hope that helps Alan ZL2BX

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Re: Delfi-C3 status update 30 April 2008 08:00 UTC
by Robert Turlington 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

Hi All I heard Delfi-c3 for about a minute ,only ,at about 0916utc this morning on 145.930+/- doppler last evening it also switched off halfway through its obit just after 2000utc using a pointable 6el horiz quad and doppler tuned ft8476 in io92jp Regards Robert G8ATE > Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:16:58 +0200 > From: wjubbels(a)gmail.com > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > CC: rascal(a)delfic3.nl > Subject: [amsat-bb] Delfi-C3 status update 30 April 2008 08:00 UTC > > Hi all, > > Delfi-C3 is in orbit and healthy, despite some minor issues, please find a > status update below: > > 1. Telemetry indicates that all solar panels and antennas have deployed > properly > > 2. Telemetry indicates nominal values for all housekeeping values > > 3. We have already obtained payload data, and have been able to generate IV > curves of the Thin Film Solar Cell experiment, note that those uring > RASCAL can view the IV curves by clicking Options-->show IV curves in > RASCAL. > > 4. The spacecraft is operating in science mode, we have had one orbit in > emergency mode, which was most probably due to a databus issue > > 5. Up till now we have received 7000+ (!) frames from amateurs using RASCAL > around the globe, amazing, thank you all so much!! > > 6. We have verified command uplink functionality yesterday, and were able to > command the spacecraft today on the low elevation (4.9max) pass over our GS > at 0737UTC > > 7. The spacecraft has decided to consistently use the backup radio on > 145.930MHz for its telemetry downlink, we were able to request a full > on-board database dump while in range of our groundstation yesterday and > analysis of the database confirms this. We currently have a good > understanding why this is the case. We will try to switch downlinks to the > primary radio on 145.870MHz during the next good pass over our GS, so > amateurs in Western Europe might want to check that frequency also and might > experience intermittent telemetry while we are commanding. Note that we > suspect that the TX frequency could be 1 to 2 kHz lower on this radio, so > tuning around slowly is the best strategy. > > 8. The spacecraft seems to have an issue with the downlink TX switching off > into the orbit, which is the reason while Delfi-C3 has not been heard on > most descending passes over VK/ZL, we think we have a good understanding of > why it is. The TX itself is fine, but it switches off automatically when it > does not get data from the OBC for a certain amount of time. We are working > on resolving this issue. This also happened during the pass over our GS at > 0737 UTC but we were able to command it back on. For those in Western Europe > we would like to ask to keep tracking Delfi-C3 even if you can not hear it > at first, as we will try to turn the TX back on as soon as we notice that it > has been turned off. > > 9. Thank you all for your observations on the spin rate, these are really > helpful! We currently think that the spacecraft is tumbling with approx > 10deg/second, which corresponds to a 36 second period. Since the s/c > downlink antenna is almost truely circular, polarization sense can change > from RHCP to LHCP completely depending on s/c orientation, we use circular > antennas on our GS as well, and when we switch to the opposite polarizaiton > sense the signal is wiped out completely, switching back gives solid copy > with strong sigs. > > 10. NORAD object E #32787 seems to match best > > > thanks for all your observations and efforts so far! > > 73 on behalf of the Delfi-C3 team, > > Wouter Jan Ubbels > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb _________________________________________________________________ Bag extra points with the Walkers Brit Trip Game http://www.walkersbrittrips.co.uk/game

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C3 heard at KM17VX
by Kostas Ioannidis 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

C3 heard at 9:25 at km17vx transmitting at 145.930MHz. It was not sending tlm . 73 de sw1ixp

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C3 heard at KM17VX
by Kostas Ioannidis 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

C3 heard over km17vx.Packets recieved and uploaded ok.At 7:50 utc transmission at 145.930 stopped. 73 de sw1ixp

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Jules Verne boosts ISS orbit
by uschndr＠zedat.fu-berlin.de 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

>From ESA Portal http://www.esa.int/esaCP/index.html 73, Udo,DL7OL ===================================================== ATV demonstrated its ability to raise orbit of ISS Jules Verne boosts ISS orbit 25 April 2008 ESA's Jules Verne ATV was used for the first time early this morning to raise the orbit of the International Space Station. A 740-second burn of the Automated Transfer Vehicle's main engines successfully lifted the altitude of the 280-tonne Station by around 4.5 km to a height of 342 km above the Earth's surface. After the ATV Control Centre (ATV-CC) in Toulouse, France, had 'woken up' Jules Verne ATV, the manoeuvre started at 06:22 CEST (04:22 GMT) this morning and provided a 2.65 m/s thrust using two of the ATV's four main engines. Controllers at ATV-CC closely monitored ATV's subsystems throughout the long manoeuvre. "The Station's altitude naturally decreases with atmospheric drag. Until now this has been compensated for by performing a re-boost using the Russian Progress, the Space Shuttle or by the ISS itself," explains Alberto Novelli, ESAs Mission Director at ATV-CC. "Today, ATV has successfully demonstrated that it too is able to perform this vital function. Only Progress and ATV can provide this high level of re-boost. ATV is unique due to the quantity of fuel available for such manoeuvres." The re-boost manoeuvre comes just three weeks after Jules Verne ATV successfully docked with ISS on 3 April 2008 delivering 1150 kg of dry cargo, including food, clothes and equipment, as well as additional supplies of water, oxygen and fuel. Since then, the European ISS resupply spacecraft has been in dormant mode attached to the docking port on the Russian Zvezda module. Today's re-boost sets up the International Space Station for the arrival of Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-124 mission to deliver the Japanese Kibo laboratory. STS-124 is currently targeted for launch on 31 May 2008. Further re-boost manoeuvres using ATV are scheduled for 12 June, 8 July and 6 August. Jules Verne ATV is scheduled to remain docked to the International Space Station until early August. At the end of its mission, Jules Verne, loaded with up to 6.5 tonnes of material no longer required by the ISS, will undock and then burn up completely during a guided and controlled re-entry high over the Pacific Ocean.

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Delphi c3
by Alan Cresswell 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

Hi Once again nothing heard from Delphi over NZ on the 2041UT 36deg fully sunlit pass. Good signals from SEEDS, CUTE1.7 and even chirpy COMPASS. I note that stations reporting no signal today are all reporting on descending node passes while good signal reports are once again reporting on ascending node passes. Unless Delphi is turning off Southbound best guess would be an antenna squint effect. Are any stations reporting reception on Southbound passes? Alan ZL2BX

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Two CubeSats TLE decided
by Mineo Wakita 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

In Space-Track: 32783 OBJECT A = CARTSAT 2A 32792 OBJECT K = RUBIN 8/PSLV

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Delphi C3
by Alan Cresswell 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

Bram Well knock me down with a feather! Suddenly Delphi has burst into life in this part of the world! Strong signals during the entire 2217UT 20 Deg pass. LOS at 2217, 1deg within about 30 seconds of predicted. Seems to have been in its "emergency mode". Good sync but no packets decoded. I have a 68Mb wave file (manual Doppler on that pass) if required. Alan ZL2BX

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SEEDS and Delfi-C3 over West Malaysia
by Sion Chow Q. C. (9W2QC) 29 Apr '08

29 Apr '08

Dear All, Had another 57 degree pass of SEEDS and Delfi-C3 over West Malaysia at 1055 hours local or 0255 hours UTC. Again, I was tracking object C, but SEEDS was heard for about 2 minutes more after LOS. This time, unfortunately nothing was heard from Delfi-C3 on 145.870 MHz +/- and 145.930 MHz +/-. SEEDS was very strong though, with occasional QSB. Attempted to try to listen to Cute-1.7+APDII, COMPASS-1 and AAUSAT-II but unfortunately did not hear any signals. The MP3 recording of SEEDS will be posted shortly. Equipment used this time were VHF - IC910H, 2x10 H-Yagi, SB-2000 Preamp and UHF - FT-847, 2x15 H-Yagi, SB-7000 Preamp. 73, Sion Chow Q. C., 9W2QC.

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Emergency in Cute-1.7
by Hiroki Ashida 29 Apr '08

29 Apr '08

Hello All, I'd like to inform you about the current status of our satellite, Cute-1.7 + APD II. There has been some strange behaviours on Cute that the battery voltage is very low in the FM packet though it is nominal value in the CW frame. The level of the voltage from FM packet indicates that our satellite may be in danger. We've been investigating the problem but informations we have are very small, so I'd like to appeal for your kind cooperation. Our satellite transmits its beacon at 437.275MHz by CW(Morse Code) and the beacon includes the battery voltage. Details are explained in the web-page: http://lss.mes.titech.ac.jp/ssp/cute1.7/cwtelemetry_e.html There's no FM telemetry transmission excpept over Japan but CW information is remakably helpful for us. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Best Regards, Hiroki Cute-1.7 + APD II -- Hiroki Ashida <hiroki(a)lss.mes.titech.ac.jp> Laboratory for Space Systems Department of Mechano-Aerospace Engineering Tokyo Institute of Technology TEL/FAX : +81-3-5734-2644 Room 554, Ishikawadai 1st Bldg, Tokyo Institute of Technology 2-12-1 O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan

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