ARLA/CLUSTER: Rússia lançou a 28 de Abril o nanosatelite SamSat-218D

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

SamSat satellite launched from Vostochny transmitting fragmentary signals

Russia's SamSat-218D Nanosatellite, which was launched from Vostochny
Cosmodrome on April 28, is currently sending fragmentary signals,
Samara State Aerospace University press service said.

"The nanosatellite is equipped with a radio beacon, which transmits
the word 'SamSat-218D' in the Morse code. Currently, fragmentary Morse
code signals are being heard coming from the nanosatellite, against
the background of the noise during the satellite's pass over the
receiving station. Now the designers of SamSat-218D are busy analyzing
the data received in order to conceive the nature of this problem and
how it can be possibly solved," according to the press release
received by Interfax on May 4.

"At a rough estimate, the loss of signal from the satellite may be due
to the spacecraft's intense eigenrotation," a source in the university
told Interfax.

A Soyuz 2.1a rocket carrying three spacecraft - Lomonosov, Aist-2D and
SamSat-218 - was launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome at 5:01 a.m.
Moscow time on April 28, 2016.

Read the full Russia Beyond the Headlines story here:
https://rbth.com/news/2016/05/04/samsat-satellite-launched-from-vostochny-transmitting-fragmentary-signals_590399