Amsats And Hamsats Amateur Radio And Other Small Satellites

AMSATS AND HAMSATS AMATEUR RADIO AND OTHER SMALL SATELLITES By Andrew Barron ZL3DW Copyright © 2018, 2019 Andrew Barron All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holders. U.S. Kindle edition 1.2 July 2019. First U.S. Kindle edition 1.0 March 2018 It is a breach of copyright to scan or copy any part of this book or to post its content on any Internet site. Legal copies of this book are only available as printed books or as a Kindle eBook. If the document you are reading is a PDF file or you downloaded it from the Internet, it is an illegal copy! I hope you didn’t pay anything for it! The cover image was created by Dr. Fabian Neyer. From ASAT, the Aristotle Space & Aeronautics Team. It is used with permission. http://asat.meng.auth.gr/page.php?title=project_cubesat&lang=en The information contained in this book is my own analysis of the satellites created and used by amateur radio operators and by non-commercial or government interests worldwide. It intends no criticism of any association, group, manufacturer, model of radio equipment, or software application. The author has no association with any equipment manufacturer or software developer. Research material for the creation of this document has been sourced from a variety of public domain Internet sites. The author accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any information presented herein. It is to the best of my knowledge accurate, but no guarantee is given or implied. Use the information contained in this document at your own risk. O T H ER B O O KS BY ANDREW BARRO N The Radio Today guide to the Icom IC-7300 The Radio Today guide to the Icom IC-7610 Software Defined Radio for Amateur Radio operators and Shortwave Listeners An introduction to HF software defined radio (Out of print) AC KNO WL EDG E MENT S Thanks to my wife Carol for her love and support and to my sons James and Alexander for their support and their insight into this modern world. Thanks also to everyone who has ever helped with the design, production, or ground control of amateur satellites and amateur radio satellites. Finally, many thanks to you, for taking a chance and buying my book. ACRONYMS Amateur radio, commercial radio, and the satellite operator’s world are chock full of commonly used acronyms and TLAs (three letter abbreviations). They can be very confusing and frustrating for newcomers. I have tried to expand out acronyms and explain abbreviations the first time that they are used, but some like TV, FM, and SSB are in common use, so I didn’t bother. Near the end of the book, I have included a comprehensive glossary, which explains what the terms mean. My apologies if I have missed any. DEDICAT IO N I dedicate this book to Elon Musk, a visionary who dreams of impossible things and turns them into reality. At a time when many Americans believe that the world is flat and that satellites are a hoax perpetrated by their own government instead of celebrating the achievements of their country, Musk put a car into space and sent it out past Mars to the Asteroid Belt! With Bowie on the stereo and “Don’t Panic” on the SatNav, Elon’s SpaceX team capped a truly remarkable achievement with a touch of humor. I can’t wait to see what he does next. PREFA CE When I was four my mother bought me a book titled, ‘You will go to the Moon.’ I have given up waiting for the call from NASA, but I have remained interested in space and science fiction ever since. I guess it was natural for me to combine those interests with my passion for amateur radio and have a go at satellite operation. I started a quite a few years ago by beginning