Category Archives: Space

Articles and other information related to Space Communications using Satellites, High-Altitude Balloons, Earth-Moon-Earth (EME), etc.

Activities, Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, Space, Youth Activities

High Altitude Balloon Project Update #1

I just wanted to take a moment and update everyone on our progress on our High Altitude Balloon project.

Our fundraising efforts are complete and were very successful thanks to the generosity of our members and many friends.

We have secured support from two area high schools for our project Merrimack HS and Bishop-Guertin HS. Currently, we have a total of 10 – 12 young people who have joined our project.

High Altitude Balloon Classroom Topics
High Altitude Balloon Classroom Topics

With help from local teachers, we have developed a curriculum and classroom materials to help the teachers we are working with to deliver classroom sessions on the science behind high altitude balloons and the associated radio technologies. The classroom instruction began with a session at Merrimack High School this week.

We have purchased the balloon kit and supporting electronics and we are planning a session to test everything later this week.

Our planned launch date at this time is on May 13th. We are also planning an open house at AB1OC/AB1QB’s QTH the week before the launch to allow the students to test their balloon and to learn more about Amateur Radio.

We’ll post more here as the project progresses.

Again, thank you all very much for supporting our work.

Fred, AB1OC on behalf of the HAB Team

Featured, General, Newsletter, Space

New Amateur Satellite: EO-88 aka Nayif-1

Source: EO-88 aka Nayif-1 | AMSAT-UK

AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL are delighted to announce that a FUNcube communications package has been selected as a major payload for the Nayif-1 CubeSat mission.

Nayif-1 Mission Patch

This mission is intended to provide Emirati students with a tool to design and test systems in space. It is being developed by the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST) in partnership with American University of Sharjah (AUS).

It is expected that this payload will provide a large amount of valuable environmental data from space together with a new, enhanced, UHF to VHF linear transponder.

The AMSAT team will be working closely with the Emirati students, in collaboration with support partner, ISIS – Innovative Solutions In Space B.V. from the Netherlands, to develop this new system in time for the launch which is scheduled to take place early 2016.

Looks like this new satellite is now available for Amateur Radio use. I have not had a chance to try to work contacts through it yet. Here’s the transponder information:

Communication subsystem

Inverting SSB/CW transponder 300 mW

  • 435.045 – 435.015 MHz Uplink
  • 145.960 – 145.990 MHz Downlink

Operational when in eclipse

Telemetry subsystem

145.940 MHz BPSK Telemetry 300 mW

Operational when in sunlight

More information about EO-88 may be found on the AMSAT-UK page for this satellite.

Featured, General, Newsletter, Space

ARISS to Swap Out Handheld VHF Transceivers on Space Station

The 10th SpaceX International Space Station cargo resupply mission delivered investigations to study human health, Earth science, and weather patterns last Thursday. It also carried a new Ericsson 2-meter handheld radio to replace one that failed a few months ago, disrupting the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. The VHF radio in the Columbus module was used for school group contacts and for Amateur Radio packet, temporarily relocated to UHF after the VHF radio failure. ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said the new Ericsson radio will, at some point, be installed in Columbus, replacing the Ericsson UHF radio now supporting APRS packet and some school contacts. Bauer made it clear that the new Ericsson transceiver is an interim measure for ARISS.

Looks like the ISS will have crew Amateur Radio communications back sometime in the not too distant future. You can read the full article from the March ARRL Newsletter here.

Fred, AB1OC

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