AMSAT Vice President of Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, said that while it was disappointing that the amateur transponder on HuskySat-1 (HO-107) was not available any longer, following the satellite’s science missions, the overall HuskySat-1 project and mission “were quite beneficial for our partner and for AMSAT.” The linear transponder module (LTM) on HuskySat-1 was operational for more than 3 months, failing during or just after a period of full sun when LTM temperatures topped 80 °C (176 °F). HuskySat-1 was the first CubeSat from the Husky Satellite Lab at the University of Washington and the first mission with AMSAT’s LTM V/u transponder on board. University researchers conducted their work using an FCC Part 5 Experimental license.
“The HuskySat-1 team was able to command their satellite and experiments and receive the telemetry they sought, and AMSAT was able to work through the extensive process of making a new design for a ‘black box’ radio module that can be integrated into a non-AMSAT spacecraft and fly in the space environment,” Buxton said in a recent post to the AMSAT-BB reflector. “While licensed and operated as an amateur radio satellite by AMSAT during the transponder use, some facts set HO-107 apart from our Fox-1 CubeSats and other AMSAT satellites,” Buxton explained, pointing out that HuskySat-1 was not an AMSAT satellite.
“We have no control and may not have any insight into how a partner actually uses the LTM,” he said. “While we see the LTM temperatures and many of the other typical data fields that we downlink to FoxTelem regarding LTM health, data such as temperature of the host environment as well as other specific information like power and the state of the other systems in a host satellite may or may not be available to us. Whether LTM is operated within design limits is entirely up to the host.”
Buxton said the HuskySat team and AMSAT cooperated smoothly on the mission. He said the HuskySat-1 team is processing and studying its data for use in their thesis and classes and preparing it for release “in a specific way typical of such an institution today,” he said. “AMSAT is generally more forthcoming with information about our missions, but what we can and have said about this mission is determined by UW.”
Buxton said the LTM concept is now becoming available for other non-AMSAT CubeSats to fly amateur radio on their mission.
“HO-107 is the pilot production of LTM and was developed in partnership with UW HuskySat-1,” Buxton explained. “It was the first CubeSat radio module designed and built by AMSAT for use in other host CubeSats, and UW was key in working with us through the design and processes needed to provide such a module. They did not buy it as such, nor did we give it to them as an ‘off-the-shelf’ product, as we plan to for future LTM production.”
LTM was developed from the Fox-1E linear transponder design. “Overall, the HuskySat-1 team was quite happy with the telemetry and command performance, even with the LTM anomalies showing up toward the end of their experiments,” Buxton said. “In the process of getting HuskySat-1 to orbit several students became interested in amateur radio, and we have already had preliminary discussions of future joint mission plans.”
“There is no doubt that HO-107 was a success in many ways beyond the operational life of the transponder,” Buxton added. — Thanks to AMSAT News Service
Source:ARRL
Antenna
Antenna Gain Explained by KB9VBR
Check great article from KB9VBR – Antenna Gain Explained Also Visit J-Pole Antenna Shop Read more
Light Beam Multi-band Antenna LBM-17M+20M
The Light Beam Multi-band Antenna has been developed for Hams who want one antenna which enables them to operate on multiple amateur bands. Bas... Read more
Portable 2 element 6m beam
Over the years we have been asked numerous times for a really lightweight portable 6m beam. Building on over a decade of experience making and marketi... Read more
Hybrid Double Quad Antenna 2m 2/HDQ5
HYBRID DOUBLE QUAD ANTENNA 2M Double quad antenna amateurradio 2m Antenna for Amateurradio, Hamradio 2m-band VHF (frequency 144.000 MHz – 146... Read more
Stealth 2 Meter Copper J-Pole for your HOA – AF5DN
Stealth 2 Meter Copper J-Pole for your HOA – AF5DN 0 Read more
VHF
Icom ID-31E
HF D-STAR Digital Transceiver Icom ID-31E Showing its commitment to D-STAR, Icom have now released its next generation model in the form of the... Read more
Yaesu REVEALS the FTM-6000R Dual Band Mobile Ham Radio
Brand new from YAesu, dropping in October of 2021, is a new dual band Ham Radio, the FTM-6000r. This was announced today, so I wanted to get some rese... Read more
Aeronautical Mobile. Contacts 100 Miles + on a 5 watt Handheld
“This weeks show is slightly different. What if we take the Anytone AT D878 UV plus and put it in almost ideal conditions. How far can a 5 watt... Read more
Zastone ZT-2R BC/SW/VHF/UHF
Zastone Newest Mini Multi-Band Two Way Radio ZT-2R+ BC/SW/VHF/UHF band and Air Band All Included ZT-2R plus Zastone ZT-2R is a Yaesu VX-... Read more
Baofeng DM-5R Buyer Beware by VE3IPS
“I have been alerted by several hundred emails about the launch of the new Baofeng DM-5R (I am the President of the Toronto Baofeng users group... Read more
News
iPortable Rack Systems | Ham Radio Rack Mounts
Take your Ham Radio Portable with iPortable. A look at these really cool rack mount units for HF/VHF/UHF Ham Radio. Portable Pro2 Equipment Rack Syste... Read more
The history of communicating with submarines underwater
“Nestled deep in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Northwest Wisconsin is the small town of Clam Lake. Clam Lake is best known for the... Read more
K4BEN, announces the official beta of his Remote Radio Service
K4BEN, announces the official beta of his Remote Radio Service, DXRemote.net. It is a very simple concept: his enterprise-class, redundant n... Read more
New at ICOM Hamvention 2022!
ICOM Hamvention 2022! Take your contesting experience to the next level with the latest LDMOS power device with features supporting a SO2R operation i... Read more
AMSAT-UK announce the 2022 International Space Colloquium
AMSAT-UK is very happy to announce the 2022 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will be held as part of the RSGB Convention on October 8-9 at the... Read more
Digital Modes
The Ultimate Portable Ham Radio Computer
Hello Operators. In this episode of the OH8STN ham radio, we are discussing replacing the raspberry pi field computer build, with the Microsoft Surfac... Read more
Get Started with FT8 – An Introduction for Beginners
FT8 is a mode in the WSJT-X software developed by Dr Joe Taylor K1JT. In this video I show how to get started and make contacts with FT8, introduction... Read more
WSJT-X Version 2.5.1 has been Released
The WSJT-X development team has announced the general availability release of WSJT-X version 2.5.1. This release mainly contains i... Read more
WSJT-X Errors? Try This Simple Fix
Does WSJT-X display errors when you transmit with your radio? Try this simple fix which has helped me get rid of those frustrating errors. Read more
WSJT-X version 2.5.1 released
WSJT-X version 2.5.1 releasedThe development team have announced the General Availability (GA) release of WSJT-X version 2.5.1. This release mainly co... Read more