ARLA/CLUSTER: Satelite australiano BLUEsat pronto para o lançamento

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

Australia's ham radio BLUEsat ready for launch

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) has declared its
undergraduate student amateur radio satellite project BLUEsat is
complete and ready to be launched into space

As the official final green light came it was to have a stratospheric
balloon test flight near Wagga Wagga in New South Wales. Talks
continue on a space launch date.

BLUEsat, a 260mm cube weighing around 13 kilograms, will carry a
flight computer with transmissions to include a beacon and amateur
packet radio using the AX.25 protocol in a "mode J" VHF/UHF
configuration.

Magnets will passively stabilise the satellite and align it with the
Earth's magnetic field, and it will be controlled via a dedicated
communications groundstation VK2UNS at UNSW is equipped with a Yaesu
FT-847 satellite transceiver.

It is hoped BLUEsat will be placed in circular orbit at an altitude of
around 750 km that will take it over the poles. At this altitude, the
satellite will travel around the Earth at a rate of around once every
90 minutes.

Once in orbit BLUEsat will be a digital amateur radio satellite, which
means that voice and data files can be uploaded to it by any amateur
radio operator in the world over which the satellite passes.

Students from UNSW will continue to be the primary operators of the
satellite while it is in orbit and continue the educational focus
throughout the full satellite lifecycle.

Through sponsors helping to pay the bills the student-led project has
given a space experience that includes VK2UNS the ground control
station.

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/bluesat.unsw

Basic Low Earth Orbit UNSW Experimental Satellite (BLUEsat) project
http://www.bluesat.unsw.edu.au/

January 2012 - Australian BLUEsat LEO undergoes tests
https://www.amateurradio.com.au/news/
australian-bluesat-leo-undergoes-tests