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SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS001
ARLS001 Fox-1D Satellite Set to Launch this Week, China to Launch
Five New CubeSats

ZCZC AS01  
QST de W1AW  
Space Bulletin 001  ARLS001
>From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington, CT  January 9, 2018
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS001
ARLS001 Fox-1D Satellite Set to Launch this Week, China to Launch
Five New CubeSats

The launch of AMSAT-NA's Fox-1D CubeSat will take place from India on
January 12 (UTC). The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) flight
had to be rescheduled from December 30. AMSAT Vice-President
Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, delivered Fox-1D to Spaceflight Inc
in Seattle last November for integration.

In addition to a Fox-1 U/V FM transponder, Fox-1D will carry several
university experiments, including a MEMS gyro from Pennsylvania
State University-Erie, a camera from Virginia Tech, and the
University of Iowa's High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument
(HERCI) radiation mapping experiment. Fox-1D also carries the AMSAT
"L-Band Downshifter," which gives the option of utilizing a 1.2 GHz
uplink for the FM transponder. The Fox-1D downlink will be on
145.880 MHz, and uplinks will be on 435.350 and 1,267.350 MHz (67 Hz
CTCSS), switchable.

In addition to the Fox-1D Amateur Radio payload, the PSLV will carry
the French PicSat, which carries a V/U FM transponder. PicSat will
perform space observations. The transponder uplink is 145.910 MHz,
the downlink is 435.525 MHz. Some 30 smaller secondary payloads from
India, the US, and other international entities will also be on the
launch, AMSAT News Service has reported.

AMSAT said it will release Fox-1D's Keplerian elements on its
website as soon as they are known, and it's seeking telemetry data
on the CubeSat to assist with commissioning.

"Participation in telemetry collection by as many stations in as
many parts of the world as possible is essential as AMSAT
Engineering looks for successful startup and indications of the
general health and function of the satellite as it begins to
acclimate to space," AMSAT said over the weekend. AMSAT advised
those capturing telemetry using the FoxTelem software to check the
"Upload to Server" option and to complete the "Ground Station
Params" section. If AMSAT Engineering sees nominal values from the
telemetry gathered, Fox-1D will be commanded from Beacon Mode to
Safe Mode on the first good pass over the US. AMSAT said the
on-orbit checkout procedure could be completed in a few days. AMSAT
asks the Amateur Satellite community to refrain from using the
transponder uplink while on-orbit testing is under way.

Meanwhile, AMSAT-UK reports that China will launch Hunan Amateur
Radio Society's constellation of five similar 6U CubeSat spacecraft
on January 17 from its Jiuquan Space Center. Identified as TY-2
through TY-6, the satellites will carry out ionospheric
transmission-detection experiments, in addition to Amateur Radio
HF/VHF/UHF re-transmitting experiments in any narrow-band mode.

The constellation will also carry out inter-satellite communication
experiments that include Amateur Radio loads, Li-Fi high-speed LED
digital downlink, and CW lamp signal communication experiments.
Downlinks are on 70 centimeters using 9.6 kbps GMSK and on 2.4 GHz
and 5.8 GHz using 5 Mbps OFDM.
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