SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS005   
   ARLS005 Amateur Radio Transponder Will Accompany Japanese Asteroid   
   Mission into Deep Space   
      
   ZCZC AS05   
   QST de W1AW   
   Space Bulletin 005  ARLS005   
   > From ARRL Headquarters   
   Newington, CT  September 2, 2014   
   To all radio amateurs   
      
   SB SPACE ARL ARLS005   
   ARLS005 Amateur Radio Transponder Will Accompany Japanese Asteroid   
   Mission into Deep Space   
      
   According to a news report, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency   
   (JAXA) Hayabusa 2 asteroid mission, now scheduled to launch in   
   December, will carry the Abyss 2 (Shin'en 2) Amateur Radio   
   satellite. A 17 kg, 50 cm diameter polyhedron, Shin'en 2, built by   
   students at Kyushu Institute of Technology, makes extensive use of   
   carbon-fiber reinforced plastic materials that can be bonded by heat   
   to reduce its weight and the number of hardware fasteners. In   
   addition to a Mode J linear transponder for Amateur Radio   
   communication, Shin'en 2 will include CW and WSJT beacons. The   
   inclusion of the transponder will offer an opportunity for   
   earthbound radio amateurs to test the limits of their communication   
   capabilities.   
      
   "For confirming the operational status of the spacecraft in deep   
   space, the know-how of the Moon-reflecting communication technology   
   can be applied. By using an Amateur Radio service transponder,   
   amateur stations can communicate with each other when the spacecraft   
   is in near-Moon orbit," a project outline on the Shin'en 2 website   
   explains. "Beyond this distance, signal detection by Morse code and   
   telemetry data transmitted from the spacecraft will be performed."   
   The project is expected to help pave the way for future lunar rover   
   missions.  The outline is on the web at,   
   http://kit-okuyama-lab.com/en/sinen2/sinen2-outline/ .   
      
   Hayabusa 2 will make a round trip to the C-type asteroid 1999 JU3,   
   arriving at the asteroid in mid-2018. It then would survey and take   
   samples of the asteroid before departing in December 2019, and   
   return to Earth in December 2020.   
      
   Shin'en 2 will be placed into an elliptical orbit around the Sun and   
   travel into a deep space between Venus and Mars. Its inclination   
   will be almost zero, which means Shin-En2 will stay in the Earth's   
   equatorial plane. The distance from the Sun will be between 0.7 and   
   1.3 AU (an astronomical unit is 149,597,871 km).   
      
   The IARU-coordinated frequencies for Shin'en 2 are: CW beacon,   
   437.505 MHz; WSJT telemetry, 437.385 MHz; Inverting SSB/CW   
   transponder, 145.940-145.960 MHz uplink (LSB)/435.280-435.260 MHz   
   downlink (USB). The project also is hoping to gather listener   
   reports.   
      
   The ARTSAT2:DESPATCH satellite will be on the same launch. The   
   satellite, a joint project by students at Tama Art University and   
   Tokyo University, will carry a 30 kg "deep space sculpture"   
   developed using a 3D printer, as well as an Amateur Radio payload, a   
   CW beacon in the 435 MHz band.   
      
   At its maximum operational distance, it will be some 3 million km   
   (1.86 million miles) from Earth about a week after launch.   
   NNNN   
   /EX   
      
      
   )\/(ark   
      
   If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until   
   you hire an amateur.   
      
   --- FMail/Win32 1.60   
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