Author: SM0TGU

Re-post from ANS-245

Seven CubeSats deployed from Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” on Thursday, August 29.

According to the IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination, six of these satellites, CosmoGirl-Sat, SaganSat0, SAKURA, Binar2, Binar3 and Binar4, operate on the amateur bands. Three of them carry APRS digipeaters operating on the world-wide APRS frequency of 145.825 MHz.

CosmoGirl-Sat 145.825MHz, 437.120MHz
APRS VHF, callsign JS1YOI
CW, 4k8 GMSK UHF
A 1U cubesat built by Cosmo Girls Amateur Radio Club, a group of Japanese women established under the theme of “Getting closer to the universe.” The satellite also carries a high-resolution camera for earth imaging, as well as a short message UHF store-and-forward system.

SaganSat0 145.825MHz, 437.050MH
APRS VHF
GMSK 4k8, CW UHF
A 1U cubesat built by students at various high schools in the Saga Prefecture of Japan. The satellite also carries an infrared camera and gamma ray detector.

SAKURA 145.825MHz, 437.375MHz
APRS VHF
GMSK 4k8 UHF
A 1U cubesat built by the Chiba Institute of Technology, a university in Narashino, Japan. The satellite also carries experiments designed to monitor sunspots and solar flares, as well as to assess environmental damage on earth.

Binar-2 437.700MHz, Binar-3 437.850MHz, Binar-4 437.925MHz
CW, OQPSK 100/38.4kbps, GFSK 19.2/9.6/1.2kbps
Three cubesats built by Curtin University in Australia designed to test radiation shielding materials and modeling of re-entry data from LEO.

Info from
7 CubeSats were deployed from “Kibo” on Thursday, August 29, 2024.
https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/biz-lab/news/detail/004129.html

[ANS thanks Masa Arai, JN1GKZ, for the above information.]

Re-post from ANS-189:

The maiden flight of the new European launcher, Ariane 6, is scheduled for July 9, 2024, with a launch window of 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time from the European spaceport in French Guiana (July 9 20:00h to July 10 00:00h CEST). Among many other payloads, it carries our (inside YPSAT) GENESIS-A module, attached to the second stage of the launcher. The module will transmit FT8 and live SSTV images in Robot 36 format.

FT8 transmissions are made every 16 seconds, while SSTV’s are every 5 minutes.

The working frequencies are as follows:

Downlink 144.175 MHz FT8 Mode:

– Callsign AO4ARI HO60 if the antenna has been deployed
– Callsign AO4ARI HO61 if the antenna has not been deployed

Downlink 144.550 MHz SSTV Robot 36 mode with live image and Hades text

A carrier with a frequency of 144.550 MHz (same frequency as SSTV) is left between FT8 tones.

This information is compiled in PDF in the following document on our web:
https://www.amsat-ea.org/app/download/13458580/AMSAT+EA+-+GENESIS-A+transmissions+description.pdf

The only thing ESA has given us is the trajectory over the ground while flying over Europe, but we don’t have TLEs or anything that we can semi-automate. It is available on our website:
https://www.amsat-ea.org/s/cc_images/cache_19006006.jpg?t=1720182961

It will be very difficult to receive it but we thank you all if you try and if you spread this information to have all possible operators tuned into FT-8 that day. The module will fall into the sea with the second stage after a few hours.

More information about the flight including timings here:
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Ariane/Ariane_6_launch_how_to_watch_and_what_to_look_out_for

[ANS thanks Félix Páez, EA4GQS, AMSAT EA, for the above information]