SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS001   
   ARLS001 Satellite Package Carrying Amateur Radio Payloads Released into Orbit   
   from ISS   
      
   ZCZC AS01   
   QST de W1AW   
   Space Bulletin 001  ARLS001   
   > From ARRL Headquarters   
   Newington, CT  February 1, 2016   
   To all radio amateurs   
      
   SB SPACE ARL ARLS001   
   ARLS001 Satellite Package Carrying Amateur Radio Payloads Released into Orbit   
   from ISS   
      
   A package of two satellites carrying Amateur Radio payloads has been deployed   
   into orbit from the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a   
   collaborative Texas A&M and University of Texas at Austin research effort.   
   Built by Texas A&M students, AggieSat4 (AGS4) will release UT's Bevo-2 CubeSat   
   in about a month, once it is far enough away from the ISS. Both schools   
   received support from NASA's Johnson Spaceflight Center (JSC) for the design,   
   construction, testing, and launch phases. The goal of the overarching LONESTAR   
   (Low Earth Orbiting Navigation Experiment for Spacecraft Testing Autonomous   
   Rendezvous and Docking) program is for the two satellites to individually   
   rendezvous with each other and perform docking and undocking maneuvers.   
      
   "The overall objective is to find ways for small spacecraft to join together   
   autonomously in space," Helen Reed, KD7GPX, professor of aerospace engineering   
   and director of the AggieSat Lab at Texas A&M told NASA. "We need simple   
   systems that will allow rendezvous and docking with little to no help from a   
   human, which will become especially important as we venture farther out into   
   space. Applications could include in-space assembly or reconfiguration of   
   larger structures or systems as well as servicing and repair."   
      
   The AggieSat team received its first beacon signal from the satellite at its   
   Texas A&M Riverside Campus ground station. The AggieSat4 team is asking any   
   Amateur Radio operators receiving the beacon signal to send any data to the   
   AGS4 team via email to, aggiesat@tamu.edu .   
      
   AggieSat4 will transmit 9.6 kbps FSK telemetry and 153.6 kbps FSK on 436.250   
   MHz. Once it's placed into its own orbit, Bevo-2 will transmit on 437.325 on   
   CW and 38.4 kbps FSK.   
      
   Both satellites were launched to the space station during a December 6, 2015,   
   resupply mission. Earlier last week, Astronauts Tim Peake, KG5BVI, and Scott   
   Kelly made preparations to deploy the sizeable LONESTAR phase 2 mission   
   satellite package from the ISS, using the SSIKLOPS deployer. The satellite   
   mission also will demonstrate communication cross links, data exchange,   
   GPS-based navigation, and other tasks. AggieSat4 will capture images of the   
   Bevo-2 release.   
      
   The satellites were independently developed by student teams at the two   
   universities. Both teams were responsible for development plans for their   
   satellite and had to meet established mission objectives.   
      
   The Bevo-2 Satellite was designed, built, and tested in the Texas Spacecraft   
   Lab (TSL) at the University of Texas at Austin. "This whole experience is very   
   exciting," TSL Director Glenn Lightsey,   
   KE5DDG, said last fall as undergraduate and graduate students were in the   
   final stages of their project. "It's great to have a research program where   
   our students can build satellites that fly in space."   
      
   Reed and Lightsey are co-investigators for the LONESTAR 2 project.   
      
   NNNN   
   /EX   
      
   )\/(ark   
      
   ... Have your service call my service; our services will do lunch.   
   ---   
    * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)