[CW] From Fabio KF1B -

[D.J.J. Ring, Jr.]

http://dvice.com/archives/2012/07/tiny-satellites.php

I just saw this at QRZ.com by KK4CNM and thought I would share.

"An unmanned Japanese cargo vessel headed for the International Space
Station (ISS) this week is carrying some unusual cargo. In addition to
regular supplies, the vehicle contains some tiny, cube-shaped satellites
that, when deployed, will write Morse
code<http://dvice.com/archives/2008/02/usb-morse-code.php>messages
visible in the night sky.
One of the mini
satellites<http://dvice.com/archives/2012/03/swarms-of-mini.php>,
known as cubesats, has the job of helping researchers test optical
communication techniques in satellites. The cubesat will use
LEDs<http://dvice.com/archives/2012/01/solar-power-che.php>to first
twinkle like an artificial star and eventually blink in Morse Code.
The cubesat is known as FITSAT-1 and was developed by Japan's Fukuoka
Institute of Technology (FIT). It weighs just under three pounds and
carries high output, 200 watt LEDs that will turn the cube into a flashing
Morse code beacon.

Project leader Takushi Tanaka, an FIT professor of computer science and
engineering discusses one of the most exciting elements of the project on
the FITSAT-1 website:
"These [Morse code flashes], we hope, will be observable by the unaided eye
or with small binoculars," Tanaka says.

It is expected the FITSAT-1 will be deployed from the ISS on September 6,
by Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, using the Kibo module's robotic arm.
Once in orbit the FITSAT-1 will travel between 51.6 degrees south latitude
and 51.6 degrees north latitude, according to researchers.

The orbit and orientation is important to the success of the project. The
tiny satellite contains a neodymium magnet that will always point it to
magnetic north. This way, when the satellite rises above the horizon it
will be to the south of the FIT ground station.

The flashing lights and Morse code signals from the FITSAT-1 will be
received by the FIT ground station telescope and photo-multiplier device
linked to an antenna. The ground gear and the satellite's LEDs will be
aligned so the ground will receive the main beams.

The FITSAT-1 project will conduct high-speed and optical communication
experiments for three minutes as the satellite moves through orbit, to
prove the viability of optical communication with satellites.

Tanaka's website has additional detailed information on the construction of
the FITSAT-1, communication frequencies and what it will be transmitting
during the testing.

Seeing the little satellite in action firsthand might be challenging, but
even if we only get to see the sky's newest inhabitant work via video from
Tanaka's lab, it's cool to know we can wish upon a whole new star!"

Thank you Fabio,
David J. Ring, Jr., N1EA <http://www.qsl.net/n1ea/>  Radio-Officers
Group<http://groups.google.com/group/radio-officers?hl=en>-- Join
CW email list <http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/cw%20> -- Historic
Morse Recordings <http://archive.org/search.php?query=n1ea>
*Gopher Hole:*  gopher://sdf.org/1/users/djringjr/ (native or with
Firefox's Overbite extension) or via http to gopher
gateway<http://gopher.floodgap.com/gopher/gw?gopher://sdf.org/1/users/djringjr/>
*C**hat* Skype: djringjr MSN: djringjr at msn.com AIM: N1EA icq: 27380609

=30=
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/cw/attachments/20120728/2ce61d8b/attachment.html