IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination
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IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination |
| M-Cubed | Updated: 23 Aug 2011 | Responsible Operator | James Cutler KF6RFX | |
| Supporting Organisation | University of Michigan | |||
| Contact Person | jwcutler@umich.edu.nospam | |||
| Headline Details: A single cubesat that has been granted an non-amateur experimental licence by the FCC. It is proposing a V/U transceiver using 9k6 AX25 packet. Planned to launch from Vandenberg Airbase into a 320x810km 101 degree inclination orbit. Expects to share the launch with AubieSat, RAX-2 Explorer-1 Prime and DICE. The mission objectives for the Michigan Multipurpose Minisatellite (M-Cubed) is to capture mid-resolution images of the Earth from Low Earth Orbit, perform a technology demonstration for a novel new Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and train the next generation of Aerospace Engineers. Testing the FPGA on a CubeSat platform will provide valuable information as to how it survives Low Earth Orbit and how well it operates when processing real image data. M-Cubed implements a 2 MP CMOS camera that will transfer the image to the FPGA upon request. To acquire the images on the ground post-processing, M-Cubed will downlink the images and FPGA data via UHF. To receive commands for scheduling picture taking opportunities, M-Cubed will be listening over VHF. M-Cubed is also an educational project for Engineering students at the University of Michigan. M-Cubed provides hands-on experience for students who would not otherwise have the opportunity to build flight hardware for a space mission. The training these students gain by working on this project will better prepare them for work in the Aerospace industry after graduation. As a secondary objective, M-Cubed is implementing storage of RSSI values at various frequencies in its bandwidth. This means M-Cubed can provide an RFI survey inside its band during mission operations. Additionally, M-Cubed is investigating the possibility of allowing open downlink of collected images in the amateur community. Due to strict power requirements and longer downlink times (Images ~MB and downlink rate is 9.6 kbps), this may not be feasible, particularly not during operation of the FPGA. However, it is still under consideration as a secondary objective. This information can be provided to the IARU upon successful completion of M-Cubed’s primary objective and this survey. When not taking images or downlinking pictures, M-Cubed will be beaconing telemetry over UHF at specified intervals. This will be so that U. Michigan and other operators in the AMSAT community can help track M-Cubed on orbit. ** A downlink frequency of 437.485MHz has been coordinated** | ||||
| Application Date: | 06 Jul 2011 | Freq coordination completed on | 20 Aug 2011 | |
The IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination Status pages are hosted
by AMSAT-UK as a service to the world wide Amateur Satellite Community
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