The twice-delayed launch of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta II rocket that will transport the AMSAT RadFxSat (Fox-1B) CubeSat carrying an Amateur Radio payload and other payloads into orbit now is set for Saturday, November 18, at 0947 UTC. The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-1 mission launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, had to be postponed on November 14, “due to a range safety hold and high upper-level winds,” ULA said in a tweet. The launch had to be put off on November 6 due to a faulty battery on the booster. AMSAT will blog on the launch in real time on launch day, and NASA-TV will cover the event.
RadFxSat is one of four CubeSats making up this NASA Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) XIV mission, riding as secondary payloads aboard the JPSS-1 mission.
RadFxSat is a partnership with Vanderbilt University’s Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE) and hosts four payloads for the study of radiation effects on commercial off-the-shelf components. It will carry a Fox-1 style FM U/V repeater with an uplink on 435.250 MHz (67.0 Hz CTCSS) and a downlink on 145.960 MHz. Satellite and experiment telemetry will be downlinked via the DUV subaudible telemetry stream, which can be decoded using FoxTelem software.
AMSAT will have more information on the launch and its early operations, and it will post the first telemetry reception. More launch updates are available from ULA via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, hashtags #DeltaII and #JPSS1.
More Foxes to Come!
Meanwhile, progress continues on getting future Fox payloads into space. On November 6, AMSAT Vice-President Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, delivered Fox-1D to Spaceflight, Inc in Seattle, where it was integrated into its Innovative Solutions in Space QuadPack for delivery to India. Fox-1D will launch on the next ISRO Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) flight, scheduled to take place by the end of December.
In addition to the Fox-1 U/V FM transponder, Fox-1D will carry several university experiments, including a MEMS gyro from Pennsylvania State University-Erie, a camera from Virginia Tech, and the University of Iowa’s High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument (HERCI) radiation mapping experiment.
Fox-1D also carries the AMSAT “L-Band Downshifter,” which gives the option of utilizing a 1.2 GHz uplink for the FM transponder.
The NASA ELaNa XX mission that will carry RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E) into orbit will take place no earlier than the end of next March, AMSAT reported recently. The ELaNa XX mission will carry 12 CubeSats constructed by NASA and by several universities around the US. That mission will be launched by Virgin Galactic on its LauncherOne air launch to orbit system from Mojave, California. Like RadFxSat (Fox-1B), RadFxSat-2 is a partnership opportunity between Vanderbilt University’s ISED and AMSAT and will carry a similar radiation effects experiment, studying new FinFET technology.
RadFxSat-2 will be the fifth Fox-1 satellite built by AMSAT. Fox-1A, now AMSAT-OSCAR 85 (AO-85), was launched on October 8, 2015 and is fully operational, providing science data from its onboard experiments and FM transponder service for the Amateur Radio community. Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D are scheduled to launch soon.
The RadFxSat-2 spacecraft bus will be built on the Fox-1 series but will feature a linear transponder upgrade to replace the standard FM transponder used in Fox-1A through Fox-1D. In addition, the uplink and down- link bands will be reversed from the previous Fox satellites in a Mode V/U (J). The downlink will feature a 1200 bps BPSK telemetry channel to carry the Vanderbilt science data in addition to a 30-kHz wide transponder for Amateur Radio use. — Thanks to Paul Stoetzer, N8HM; ULA; AMSAT News Service
Source:ARRL
Equipment
Mobile Communications Center – Go Box by KI6AIX
Designed and built by Dennis, KI6AIX. This Mobile Comm Center features VHF and UHF two-way radios, a scanner, internal battery or power supply.... Read more
DX Engineering UT-KIT4 Complete Coax Cable Tool Kits DXE-UT-KIT4
DX Engineering DXE-UT-KIT4 Complete Coax Cable Tool Kits are cost-saving tool kits contained in a handsome, convenient carrying case. They are designe... Read more
EMTRON DX-3SP – HF Amplifier ( 4.5Kw )
The “Big Gun” is getting even bigger, with the new DX-3SP! With over 4000 Watts CW and more then 4500 Watts SSB, this QRO muscle amp is... Read more
Icom IC-R20 Receiver
Scan, Monitor, Record — The Pro’s Scanner 2 for 1, Dualwatch receive Until the Icom IC-R20, the capability of monitoring two frequ... Read more
SO-239 antenna ballmount for mobile Station
SO-239 connection on top of the ball mount for the antenna and for the PL-259 connection on the inside of the vehicle. The plates are 3 inches in... Read more
Review
NanoVNA comparison measuring a duplexer – NanoVNA-H4 and SAA-2N
“Is the NanoVNA suitable to measure/adjust a typical antenna duplexer? This video compares the NanoVNA-H4 and the SAA-2N VNAs with a professiona... Read more
The Difference Between Yaesu WiresX And Hotspots
“In the world of Yaesu System Fusion and C4FM there seems to be a lot of confusion over access to the WiresX system from a hotspot. This time, I... Read more
Radio Set up on a Pickup Truck
James Hollen, D25Y31, has a radio and antenna set up in the bed of his pickup truck and wants to know if his truck will cause interference. Read more
Pl-259 vs N-Connectors is similar to Ford vs Chevy
Michael, KI7QIB, is asking a simple question “Should I replace PL-259 connectors in a feedline with N-type connectors? Read more
Icom ID-51A review on AmateurLogic.TV
Icom ID-51A review on AmateurLogic.TV Read more
Antenna
Multiband Ground Plane Antenna [ 3D print ]
Ham Radio Multiband Ground Plane Antenna by ok1cdj Download Files :https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2030237 This is remix from http://www.thingiverse... Read more
CX-AUTO Switch – Kessler Engineering, LLC
he CX-AUTO was designed to satisfy the many requests from AT-AUTO owners for additional coaxial outputs. It does that quite well and more! The CX-AUTO... Read more
HyEndFed 5 band 80/40/20/15/10 Antenna
HyEndFed 5 band for 80,40, 20, (15) and 10 meter. Max. Power : 200 watt PEP. Length : 23 meter. Enclosure : Polycarbonate IP67, 100% UV resista... Read more
The Super Elastic Signal Stick antenna review and testing
< Who is Signal Stuff? In a world where Amateur Radio ought to be on the cutting edge of technology, far too often hams are seen as being “old s... Read more
What’s Inside a 49:1 Unun?
Terence, 2E0IPK, asks “What makes a 49:1 unun and what does 49:1 actually mean? Read more