AO-73 : Funcube-1

VK5HILeave a comment

Rotation Period

16 Jul 2021 = 198 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
17 Jul 2021 = 180 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
18 Jul 2021 = 164 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
19 Jul 2021 = 168 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
20 Jul 2021 = 173 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
21 Jul 2021 = 164 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
22 Jul 2021 = 183 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)

Special thanks to Terry VK5GU and Colin VK3HBF for their continued assistance with downloads this week.

AO-73 has now assumed a stable reversed spin rotational attitude about the Z-Z Axis.

73 de Colin VK5HI.

AO-73 : Funcube-1

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Rotation Period

09 Jul 2021 = 31.8 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
10 Jul 2021 = 46.3 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
11 Jul 2021 = 65.0 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
12 Jul 2021 = 380 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
13 Jul 2021 = 550 seconds (from WOD Solar panel temperatures)
14 Jul 2021 = 270 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
15 Jul 2021 = 230 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)

Special thanks to Terry VK5GU and Colin VK3HBF for their continued assistance with downloads this week.
At the start of this monitoring period AO-73 continued to perform in an unstable spin attitude with AO-73 rotating about the Z-Z axis but with a variable rotation about AO-73’s offset Centre of Mass. As noted last week AO-73 the rotation period about the Centre of Mass had been noted to be in the range, 450 to 600 seconds.
On the 12th July the motion about the Centre of Mass “consolidated” as AO-73’s rotation about the Z-Z axis.
The graphic from the 5th July

The graphic from the 12th July

and the latest graphic from the 15th July

73 de Colin VK5HI.

AO-73 : Funcube-1

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Rotation Period

02 Jul 2021 = 18.4 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
03 Jul 2021 = 21.3 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
04 Jul 2021 = 22.7 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
05 Jul 2021 = 22.3 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
06 Jul 2021 = 24.3 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
07 Jul 2021 = 25.9 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
08 Jul 2021 = 29.8 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)

Special thanks to Terry VK5GU and Colin VK3HBF for their continued assistance with downloads this week.
AO-73 continues to perform in an unstable spin attitude. The spin attitude is a complex solution that comprises AO-73 rotating about the Z-Z axis but with a variable rotation about AO-73’s offset Centre of Mass. During this past week the rotation about the Centre of Mass has had a rotation period of 450 to 600 seconds.

73 de Colin VK5HI.

AO-73 : Funcube-1

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Rotation Period

25 Jun 2021 = 17.2 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
26 Jun 2021 = 16.8 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
27 Jun 2021 = 16.7 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
28 Jun 2021 = 15.0 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
29 Jun 2021 = 15.8 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
30 Jun 2021 = 16.4 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
01 Jul 2021 = 16.4 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)

Special thanks to Terry VK5GU and Colin VK3HBF for their continued assistance with downloads this week.
AO-73 this week has entered into an unstable spin state. It has been very difficult to establish the spin rate and attitude.

73 de Colin VK5HI.

IT-SPINS received and decoded

PE0SATLeave a comment

The first frames are received and decoded. The below frame was decoded with gr-satellites.

Congratulations to the team for a successful build, launch and activation.

-> Packet from 19k2 FSK downlink
Container: 
    header = Container: 
        addresses = ListContainer: 
            Container: 
                callsign = u'K7MSU' (total 5)
                ssid = Container: 
                    ch = False
                    ssid = 0
                    extension = False
            Container: 
                callsign = u'K7MSU' (total 5)
                ssid = Container: 
                    ch = True
                    ssid = 0
                    extension = True
        control = 0x03
        pid = 0xF0
    info = b'\x11\x04\x11\x01\x00\x11\x00\x00\x16\xa4\x00\xa5]\xe4\x01\x06\x05\xb9\x12l\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x01\x80\x00\x00\x00\x00\x80\x00A\x00\x00T\xa7\x03o\x05\x02L\x14\x02m\x00\x00\x00\x00\x02R\x02S\x00"\x02*\x01\x9e\x02V\x02\\\x00\x1d\x01\x99\x00\'\x03\x98\x02l\x00\x04\x00\x00\x00J\x02_\x00\xde\x00\x00\x00\x89\x02\xc1\x00\x00T\xa5\x03o\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00T\xa7\x03t\x00\x08\xfc|\x05\x18\xe1\xe0\x02\xe4\x00\x9a\xb4\xdd\x00\x00T\xa7\x03u\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\x03\xe7\x03\xe8\x03\xe9\x00\x00\x00\x00T\xa8\x03_\x80(\x95' (total 176)

IT-SPINS

DK3WNLeave a comment

On June 29th at 22:50 UTC a scientific nanosatellite* (a 3U CubeSat) sponsored by the American National Science Foundation will be deployed into its operational orbit and begin transmitting. We are looking to the Amateur Satellite community to track the satellite and record its beacon signals and be the first to confirm operations and report in.

The details:
Timing: The satellite activates itself and begins beaconing 60-minutes after its 22:50 UTC 6/26/21 deployment.
Beacon cadence: every 30-seconds
Beacon downlink frequency: 437.405 MHz
Modulation: GMSK
Telemetry Rate: 19200 baud
Transmitter output power: 1 Watt
Antenna gain 2.15 dBi
Altitude: 490 km circular
Inclination: 51.6 degrees

Pre-deployment predicted Two line elements (TLEs):

1 99999U 21180.95138889 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 00001
2 99999 051.6425 279.6175 0007789 261.9289 239.7719 15.23772142000052

(Post-deployment TLEs will be posted at
http://www.ssel.montana.edu/itspins.html
as soon as available after deployment.)

Send tracking reports to: klumpar@montana.edu

*The satellite is known as the Ionosphere-Thermosphere Scanning Photometer for Ion Neutral Studies (IT-SPINS, for short). Built by Montana State University in Bozeman Montana (USA) and by SRI International in Menlo Park CA, and by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the satellite will make scientific observations of emissions from the nighttime ionosphere to study oxygen ion interactions with the neutral upper atmosphere.

AO-73 : Funcube-1

VK5HILeave a comment

Rotation Period

18 Jun 2021 = 23.8 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
19 Jun 2021 = 21.6 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
20 Jun 2021 = 21.0 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
21 Jun 2021 = 20.1 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
22 Jun 2021 = 19.3 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
23 Jun 2021 = 18.2 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)
24 Jun 2021 = 17.6 seconds (from averaged panel temperatures)

Special thanks to Terry VK5GU and Colin VK3HBF for their continued assistance with downloads this week.
AO-73 continues to rotate in the reverse spin direction about the Z-Z axis with a very slow stable rotation about AO-73’s offset Centre of Mass.

73 de Colin VK5HI.