05/20/2016
Pupils at at St Thomas More (STM) Cathedral School in Arlington, Virginia, have
begun tracking the orbit of STMSat-1[1], the 1U CubeSat they built and which
was deployed on May 16 from the International Space Station. It is object
41476[2]. After being place in orbit, the CubeSat had continued roughly in the
same orbit as the ISS and of other satellites deployed on May 16. Emily Laura
at St Thomas More told ARRL on May 19 that STMSat-1 will turn itself on once
its batteries have charged fully and its mechanized antennas deploy. The school
has no means of communicating with the satellite.
Some satellite enthusiasts had expected STMSat-1 to come alive within 45
minutes of being placed in orbit - and, in any event, they may have been
listening in the wrong place. The little spacecraft apparently will transmit
9600 bps GMSK telemetry on 437.000 MHz, while its SSTV images eventually will
be transmitted on 437.800 MHz. Laura advised those following STMSat-1
developments to listen for it on 437.000 MHz and to stay up to date on
developments via the CubeSat's Twitter[3] feed, @STMSat11.
The satellite is the first to be designed and built by grade schoolers, who
were supported by NASA technical advisors and local radio amateurs. STMSat-1
was transported to the ISS in a December launch. The kit-built satellite
initially had been set for release into space in mid-February. That deployment
was postponed until early March, however, before being put on hold again. The
satellite project is part of the school's STEM (science, technology,
engineering, mathematics) education initiatives.
NASA's Technology Demonstration Office provided the school with a mobile "clean
room" for the construction period and has been advising the school on tracking
the satellite. The space agency also provided the school with a ground station
antenna to receive its 70 centimeter signals, once the satellite comes to life.
NASA engineers programmed the operating frequencies for the transmitter in
early 2014. Laura said NASA engineers had advised listening on 437.000 MHz.
[1] http://www.stmsat-1.org/rmoc/
[2] https://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/stations.txt
[3] http://www.twitter.com/
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