Overview
FUNcube is GO FOR LAUNCH!
Press Release. The following Press Release was made in the last few weeks.
An agreement has now been reached with ISIS Launch Services BV, who are based in Delft in the Netherlands, for them to provide a launch of the FUNcube-1 CubeSat.
FUNcube is go for launch!
It is anticipated that FUNcube-1, which has been created by a team of volunteer radio amateurs and other specialists over the past two years, will be launched with a number of other spacecraft from a DNEPR rocket sometime in the third quarter of 2012. The flight is planned to take place from the Yasny launch facility which is in southern Russia near to the Kazakhstan border. The spacecraft needs to be completed by the end of July 2012, ready for shipping from the Netherlands to Russia.
The orbit is still to be defined precisely but it is expected to be nearly circular and approximately sun synchronous. This will ensure that the spacecraft has the necessary solar illumination and that it will appear at regular times for educational outreach activities at schools and colleges.
The FUNcube-1 spacecraft will transmit signals that can be easily received directly by schools and colleges for educational outreach purposes. This telemetry will give details of the spacecraft’s health: battery voltages and temperatures and from this it will be possible to determine its spin rate and attitude by plotting simple graphs. Additionally, experimental data and messages can be displayed in an attractive format and provide stimulation and encouragement for students to become interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in a unique way.
The target audience for this project is students at both primary and secondary levels and a simple and cheap ‘ground station’, actually it looks just like a USB dongle, for schools to use, has already been developed.
In addition to providing educational outreach for schools and colleges around the world, the spacecraft will also provide a U/V linear transponder for radio amateurs during local ‘night’, at weekends and during holiday periods
The production and testing of the spacecraft itself has already been funded via a legacy and other sources. It will however really help the project if radio amateurs and other interested supporters could contribute something towards the cost of the actual launch itself. With this in mind a special donation scheme has been setup using the Virgin Giving charity donation website http://tinyurl.com/funcubegiving/
All donations of £25 (or equivalent) or more will be specially acknowledged by the spacecraft itself – exact details will follow shortly!
All donations received from UK tax payers can be ‘Gift Aided’ which will add 20% to the value of your donation.
End of Press Release.
AMSAT-UK is working on a new amateur satellite project – The FUNcube Project– that features a 435 to 145 MHz Linear Transponder for SSB/CW operation. The project has received major initial funding from the Radio Communications Foundation (RCF) and is being developed in collaboration with ISIS-Innovative Solutions in Space BV.
FUNcube-1 is a complete educational single CubeSat project with the goal of enthusing and educating young people about radio, space, physics and electronics.
FUNcube-2 on UKube comprises of a set of FUNcube boards that will fly as part of the separate UKube triple cubesat and has identical goals
They will support the educational Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) initiatives and provide an additional resource for the GB4FUN Mobile Communications Centre.
The target audience consists of primary and secondary school pupils and the FUNcubes will feature a 145 MHz telemetry beacon that will provide a strong signal for the pupils to receive.
A simple receiver board has also been developed. This connects to the USB port of a laptop to display telemetry and messages in an visually interesting and stimulating way.
The satellites will contain a materials science experiment, from which the school students can receive telemetry data which they can compare to the results they obtained from similar reference experiments in the classroom.
FUNcube is the first CubeSat project that will benefit this group.
It is anticipated that the FUNcubes will be launched into a Sun Synchronous Low Earth Orbit about 600-700km above the earth using one of the many launch opportunities that exist for CubeSat missions. In such an orbit the satellite passes over Europe approximately 3 times in the morning, and 3 in the evening, every day, perhaps allowing the morning passes to be used for educational purposes and the evening passes for Amateur Radio communications.
The FUNcubes will also carry a UHF to VHF linear transponder that will have approx 500mW PEP output and which can be used by Radio Amateurs worldwide for SSB and CW communications.
Measuring just 10cm x 10cm x 10cm, and with a mass of less than 1kg, FUNcube-1 will be the smallest ever satellite to carry a linear transponder and the choice of frequencies will enable Radio Amateurs to use their existing VO-52, DO-64, HO68 and similar stations.
A key feature of the satellite is the absence of an over complicated, multi-faceted, multi- tasking On-Board Computer. For reliability and maximum power efficiency, the design has been kept as straight-forward as possible with satellite control being achieved using simple commands.
AMSAT-UK has more than 350 individual members and is one of more than 20 such groups worldwide. AMSAT-UK teams have provided hardware for more than 10 satellites over the past 35+ years including SSETI Express in 2005.
They are presently involved with the development of hardware and software for a number of satellite projects including the European Student Earth Orbiter (ESEO), P3E, ARISSat-1, the Columbus module on the ISS and also the GENSO Ground station network.
The Radio Communications Foundation is a Registered Charity (Number 1100694) set up in 2003 to fund efforts to bring the wonders of radio into the classrooms, universities and any other public place where hands on demonstration can influence understanding.
The RCF funding for FUNcube is made possible through the generous bequest from a “silent key” who wanted the hobby that he loved brought to the attention of others. Any one wanting to make a bequest in their Will so that their name can live on in the hobby, or anyone simply wanting to make a donation, should visit http://www.commsfoundation.org/
FUNcube contact: Graham Shirville G3VZV email g.shirville at btinternet.com
