[amsat-bb] Delfi-C3 / DO-64 Status update October 9th 08:00 UTC

[Wouter Jan Ubbels]

Hi all,

Delfi-C3 / DO-64 has now been in orbit for 164 days, and we regularly
command the satellite back to BPSK telemetry mode during passes over
our groundstation, after which the satellite reboots in linear
transponder mode after the next eclipse. Since the satellite does not
transmit any telemetry when in transponder mode, switching to BPSK
telemetry mode allows us to monitor housekeeping values and hence
assess satellite health.
Since we would like to gather longer datasets of housekeeping
telemetry, we will switch the satellite permanently to BPSK telemetry
mode during the coming days, i.e. the satellite will boot in this mode
after every eclipse. Our first opportunity is at approx. 10:00 UTC on
Oct. 9th (today), switching may take a couple of passes due to the
command sequence which is required to set this mode. We will switch
the satellite to "basic mode" in which an AX.25 frame containing
housekeeping telemetry is transmitted approx once every 4-5 secs, the
rest of the transmission is filled with idle flags. Downlink frequency
for this mode will be 145.930MHz, modulation is 1200bit/s BPSK.
Telemetry can be captured using the RASCAL software and forwarded to
our central servers just like during the first three months of science
mission, this would be greatly appreciated by the team.
At this moment, we do not know how long the satellite will be in this
mode, but it will at least be a couple of weeks. We'll keep you
informed on both our mission operations page at

http://www.delfic3.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=93&Itemid=122

and via the AMSAT-BB.

Best 73 on behalf of the Delfi-C3 /DO-64 team,

Wouter Jan Ubbels PE4WJ