The Russian Meteor M2-1 satellite, a Canadian Telestar experimental satellite and 17 other secondary payloads, including the D-Star One satellite which would have been the first amateur radio satellite utilizing the D-Star digital voice and data format, have apparently been lost with the failure of the Fregat rocket stage launched aboard a Soyuz booster from the new Vostochny Cosmodrome. Russian controllers say they were unable to contact the Meteor M2-1 after it was supposed to separate from the Fregat upper stage. Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, says that they are analyzing the situation.

From Spacefight Now: "Billed as the first German commercial CubeSat, the D-Star One spacecraft had four communications modules on-board, two of which were to be used by the amateur radio community. Developed by German Orbital Systems in Berlin in cooperation with the Czech company iSky Technology, officials hope to build follow-on satellites to construct a low Earth orbit communications network."

Hopefully, we'll get another chance to utilize D-Star communications with a satellite repeater some time in the future.

73 Wayne N5WD