[amsat-bb] UK Space Agency to use AMSAT-UK FUNcube Boards

[Trevor .]

The UK Space Agency is proposing to use the AMSAT-UK FUNcube boards as part of its innovative new CubeSat UKube-1 slated for launch in December 2011.

The United Kingdom Space Agency website now includes some more details of the UKube-1, a 3U CubeSat (10 * 10 * 30cm)  project. See
http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/20084.aspx

The baseline design for this satellite includes a set of FUNcube boards to provide the educational outreach for the project. AMSAT-UK are presently discussing the precise details of this arrangement with the UKube-1 project team. This development will enable a much higher level service to be provided for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outreach to schools than would be possible with just a single spacecraft.

An information pack is provided by the UK Space Agency is at
http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/assets/ZIP/CubesatAOpayload.zip 

In it they reference two International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) documents regarding the Amateur Satellite Servivce:
[AD-05] IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination Request (IARU-ASFCR) (Rev. 2009-03)
[AD-06] IARU Amateur Radio Satellite (IARU-ARS) guidelines (Rev. 2006-10) 

BBC report on UKube 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/jonathanamos/2010/11/uk-takes-open-source-route-int.shtml

FUNcube website
http://www.FUNcube.org.uk/

FUNcube SDR Dongle
http://www.FUNcubeDongle.com/

FUNcube Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FUNcube/

Getting started on Amateur Radio Satellites PDF
http://www.uk.amsat.org/content/view/408/168/

AMSAT-UK publishes a colour A4 newsletter, OSCAR News, which is full of Amateur Satellite information.
Join online at https://secure.amsat.org.uk/subs_form/

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73 Trevor M5AKA