Thursday, June 30, 2016

Satellite Roundup


The Swayam COEP cubesat
(Courrtesy AMSAT India)

India in late June launched 20 satellites from Sriharikota base, of which seven will downlink their data on amateur radio frequencies. One of them, LAPAN-A3, will relay FM and APRS; while another, Swayam COEP, will provide digital store-and-forward on 70 centimeters.

Virginia Tech is working with AMSAT and the US Air Force on a geostationary amateur satellite to be launched in the 2017-2018 timeframe. The $9 million mission (for which $6 million is still to be raised) will include a software-defined radio (SDR) which will provide digital transponders on the 5- and 10-GHz amateur bands. For more information, visit <www.hume.vt.edu/geo/>.