So I've had further confirmation that APSS-1 will start transmitting 45 minutes after deployment, and will only beacon every 5 minutes initially. Still no information on beacon formats.
Interestingly APSS-1 just moved to the 'finished' coordination list: http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=669 I wonder how this got approved so quickly? (and after the original launch date too...)
73 Mark VK5QI
On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 5:42 PM Mark Jessop vk5qi@rfhead.net wrote:
I've made initial contact, but have received no further information than that provided in Terry's email. It's worth pointing out that the frequency this satellite is using is uncoordinated (IARU coordination was not completed), and overlaps with the frequency of FalconSat-1.
Since we don't have any pre-launch TLEs, I've generated a TLE based on the information in the launch press kit ( https://www.rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/Return-to-Sender-Press-Kit-RL-Fi... ).
The TLE is as follows: 1 99998U 14900A 20325.07569444 .00000000 00000-0 50000-4 0 01 2 99998 97.3000 90.9426 0001454 0.0000 218.5000 15.21937999 00
This is valid for a 2020-11-20 01:44Z launch. If the launch slips (as is fairly common with Electron launches), it will need to be re-calculated. This should be good for the first few hours, after which we should hopefully have a better fitted TLE based on radio observations.
Information on how I generated the TLE (using open source tools) is here: https://gist.github.com/darksidelemm/60dd22c74ebe2e6d89bae9e6a845da5e
Updates on post-launch tracking will occur in this thread on the SatNOGS forums: https://community.libre.space/t/apss-1-launch-on-rocketlab-electron-20th-nov...
73 Mark VK5QI
On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 11:33 AM Wendy and Terry Osborne via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb@amsat.org> wrote:
The weather at the Launch site doesn't look good for tomorrow so the launch is delayed for a day. See: https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1328800285498560513 The press kit here is worth a read:
https://www.rocketlabusa.com/assets/Uploads/Return-to-Sender-Press-Kit-RL-Fi...
So far nothing new on the Auckland University satellite web page. The only new information I have is that the downlink frequency is 435.1 MHz, 9600 bps GMSK data, AX25 Space Packet Protocol, with ECSS Telemetry & Telecommand Packet Utilization Standard (PUS) encoding.
73, Terry Osborne ZL2BAC _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb