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| OUFTI-1 Cubesat (From OUFTI-1 website) |
There's lots of news from the world of amateur
radio satellites. Three student-built cubesats from Belgium, Italy and Denmark
were launched in late April by the European Space Agency. One of them – OUFTI-1
from Belgium – carries the first dedicated amateur radio D-STAR transponder in
orbit, according to the AMSAT News Service (ANS).
The ARRL reports that an Argentine satellite
carrying an amateur radio transponder was launched from China on May 30th. When
activated, the LUSEX (LU Satellite Experiment) transponder will have a 435 MHz
uplink and a 145 MHz downlink.
The next three satellites
in AMSAT-NA's Fox series have received tentative launch dates, according to
ANS. Fox-1C (also known as Fox-1Cliff) and Fox-1D will fly to space together,
possibly as early as July 28th. Fox-1B now has a planned launch date of January
20, 2017.
In addition, the first amateur radio geostationary satellite –
Es'hail-2 – is now scheduled for launch this December, according to the ARRL Letter. The satellite will have
transponders on the 2.4 and 10-GHz bands, and is planned for a southern
hemisphere orbit that should provide 24/7 coverage in an area extending from
Brazil to Thailand.
