New Chinese Zhou Enlai Student Satellite Set to Launch

The 2U Zhou Enlai CubeSat, developed with primary and middle school students in China, is expected to launch on January 19. The satellite is named after the first Premier of the People’s Republic of China, who held office from 1949 until 1976. A report on the official Xinhua Net website said the CubeSat, constructed at Huai’an Youth Comprehensive Development Base in Jiangsu Province, has been transported to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, where a CZ-11 solid-fuel rocket will put it into orbit Friday.

“Twenty teenagers who participated in the development project accompanied the transport group to the launch center and will witness the lift-off,” Xinhua said.

The satellite appears to be the HA-1 satellite coordinated with the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) to carry an Amateur Radio FM voice transponder and aerospace science education projects. According to the IARU Amateur Satellite Coordination pages, the HA-1 CubeSat is equipped with an Amateur Radio repeater and slow-scan television (SSTV) component, with an SSTV beacon that will post date, time, temperature, and location information on an SSTV frame.

The satellite has a downlink in the band 435-438 MHz, and an uplink in the band 144-146 MHz. Telemetry will be 9.6 k BPSK on 437.350 MHz. The FM voice downlink will be on 436.950 MHz, and the uplink is 145.930 MHz.

Source:ARRL