Category: Ham Satellite news

Re-post from ANS-032 2026:

Thailand’s KNACKSAT-2 satellite is preparing for deployment from the International Space Station, with release currently scheduled for February 3, 2026 at 08:55 UTC (03:55 AM EST). The mission continues Thailand’s university-led CubeSat development program following the earlier KNACKSAT-1 mission. The project is led by King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok in Thailand, working with domestic and international partners to advance satellite engineering, payload integration, and on-orbit operations. The deployment is expected to be viewable live online via the project livestream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB4PIOS-hSs.

KNACKSAT-2 was transported to the International Space Station in late 2025 and is a 3U CubeSat designed to host multiple payloads. The satellite expands on KNACKSAT-1, which demonstrated Thailand’s ability to design and build a satellite domestically. Development and testing were conducted in cooperation with NBSPACE and other academic and research partners. The mission is intended to help Thailand develop multi-payload CubeSat platforms and prepare for future ride-share launch opportunities.

The satellite carries both educational and research payloads. Non-amateur missions include an Earth imaging camera, a store-and-forward IoT data collection system for remote sensors, ultraviolet radiation measurement instrumentation, and in-orbit evaluation of space-qualified components. These payloads are part of broader national workforce development programs coordinated through the Thai Space Consortium and academic partner networks. The satellite will be operated in orbit using ground stations located in Thailand.

KNACKSAT-2 also supports amateur radio operations through an APRS digipeater payload developed in cooperation with the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand. The amateur payload operates using coordinated frequencies through the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) satellite frequency coordination process. The APRS digipeater system uses 145.825 MHz for uplink and downlink using FSK modulation at 9600 bps with AX.25 framing. The amateur satellite callsign assigned to the mission is HSØK.

In addition to amateur payloads, the spacecraft transmits engineering telemetry on 400.630 MHz using FSK at 9600 bps with AX.25 framing and a one-minute beacon interval. Following deployment, project coordinators have requested assistance from the monitoring community to receive, decode, and submit telemetry reports from the 400.630 MHz downlink, which is outside the amateur radio allocation. Many satellite observers actively search for newly deployed spacecraft and contribute reception reports, helping mission teams verify spacecraft health and early on-orbit performance. The satellite is expected to rotate in orbit, and ground stations are recommended to use circular polarization, with RHCP preferred, to improve reception reliability.

KNACKSAT-2 continues the growing trend of university-driven satellite programs contributing technical capability, education, and operational experience to the global amateur satellite community. University-built satellites are playing an increasing role in expanding access to space while supporting educational outreach and new opportunities for amateur radio experimentation.

For more information:

Deployment Live Stream	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB4PIOS-hSs
KNACKSAT-2 Packet Forwarder Software Download	https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/18fa1jQJff-JiHCe3aBd1pGhCkZLYsv98
KNACKSAT-2 Packet Forwarder Software Manual	https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iHfO3wFxgxnFv4PHQVXjML2r8pdHhOGU/view
API Registration for KNACKSAT-2 Packet Forwarder	https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe3XvkZU3XPdodgZIm94c7DczWjIqJlDF-46hGutW0aE_sLFA/viewform
KNACKSAT-2 Telemetry Dashboard	https://dashboard.knacksat.com/telemetry/d/knacksat-telemetry/knacksat-satellite-telemetry-monitor

[ANS thanks Tanan Rangseeprom, HS1JAN, and the IARU for the above information]

The FO-29 Control team sometimes receives requests regarding the operation of Fuji No.3, but as they have already reported, more than a quarter of a century after its launch, the situation remains unstable. They regret that they are unable to operate Fuji No.3 in accordance with your wishes under these circumstances, and they ask for your understanding and continued use of her.

During February, the control team plans to send a command to turn on the transponder at the following times, but please be advised that if it is not turned on for more than 2 minutes after they start sending the command, they will terminate the command work.

February
6th 23:14-
7th 22:19-
13th 22:03-
14th 22:53-
20th 22:36-
21st 23:27-
27th 23:10-
28th 22:12-

Note: FO-29 will enter full sunlight around March 9.

Editor’s note: Full sunlight will hopefully allow continuous operation of FO-29’s linear transponder.

Sources (Japanese only):
https://www.jarl.org/Japanese/3_Fuji/fuji3-202210.htm

[ANS thanks JARL for the above information.]

This is a sat database that I actually have missed and seen for the first time today. It is updated daily with GitHub Action and if you would like more information visit the project on GitHub.

Re-post from ANS-327:

Mike Seguin, N1JEz, reports the successful reception of the University of Arizona’s CatSat’s 10 GHz downlink on 10.47 GHz on the morning of November 21, 2025. The satellite’s  linear transponder uses 10 GHz down and 5 GHz up. More information is available at https://catsat.arizona.edu/

Mike reports that signals were quite good in FN34xn in Vermont! His next step is to try the uplink on 5 GHz on 5.663 GHz.

Below is a link to a portion of the pass. It is an I&Q file recorded with HDSDR using the Winrad format.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15cuuhi-U5WDkVjiKHJeuP_argBhH0Cpz/view?usp=drive_link

Congrats to the CatSat team!!

Thank you to Funkamateur and Andreas Bilsing (DM4TG) for mentioning AMSAT-SM’s letter to amateur radio manufacturers regarding developing a full duplex handheld radio.

Unfortunately the result of out open letter is so far… nothing.