[amsat-bb] FUNcube-1 Project news update

[g.shirville at btinternet.com]

FUNcube -1 – Launch details and time frame finalised

An agreement has now been reached with ISIS Launch Services BV, who are 
based in Delft in the Netherlands, for them to provide a launch of the 
FUNcube-1 CubeSat.

It is anticipated that FUNcube-1, which has been created by a team of 
volunteer radio amateurs and other specialists over the past two years, will 
be launched with a number of other spacecraft from a DNEPR rocket sometime 
in the third quarter of 2012. The flight is planned to take place from the 
Yasny launch facility which is in southern Russia near to the Kazakhstan 
border. The spacecraft needs to be completed by the end of July 2012, ready 
for shipping from the Netherlands to Russia.

The orbit is still to be defined precisely but it is expected to be nearly 
circular and approximately sun synchronous. This will ensure that the 
spacecraft has the necessary solar illumination and that it will appear at 
regular times for educational outreach activities at schools and colleges.

The FUNcube-1 spacecraft will transmit signals that can be easily received 
directly by schools and colleges for educational outreach purposes. This 
telemetry will give details of the spacecraft’s health – battery voltages 
and temperatures and from this it will be possible to determine its spin 
rate and attitude by plotting simple graphs. Additionally, experimental data 
and messages can be displayed in an attractive format and provide 
stimulation and encouragement for students to become interested in Science, 
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in a unique way.


The target audience for this project is students at both primary and 
secondary levels and a simple and cheap “ground station” – actually it looks 
just like a USB dongle, for schools to use, has already been developed.

In addition to providing educational outreach for schools and colleges 
around the world, the spacecraft will also provide a U/V linear transponder 
for radio amateurs during local “night”, at weekends and during holiday 
periods

The production and testing of the spacecraft itself has already been funded 
via a legacy and other sources. It will however really help the project if 
radio amateurs and other interested supporters could contribute something 
towards the cost of the actual launch itself. With this in mind a special 
donation scheme has been setup using the Virgin Giving charity donation 
website http://tinyurl.com/funcubegiving/

All donations of £25 (or equivalent) or more will be specially acknowledged 
by the spacecraft itself – exact details will follow shortly!

All donations received from UK tax payers can be “Gift Aided” which will add 
20% to the value of your donation.

More information about this exciting project will be made available over the 
coming months at the website http://www.funcube.org.uk/