SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS012
ARLS012 RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Launch Delayed; AMSAT Asks for Patience During
Commissioning

ZCZC AS12
QST de W1AW
Space Bulletin 012  ARLS012
> From ARRL Headquarters
Newington, CT  November 8, 2017
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS012
ARLS012 RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Launch Delayed; AMSAT Asks for Patience During
Commissioning

The launch of the Delta II vehicle carrying RadFxSat (Fox-1B) and other
payloads has been delayed, due to a faulty battery on the booster, United
Launch Alliance (ULA) announced on November 6. The
launch now is scheduled for no earlier than Tuesday, November 14. RadFxSat is
one of four CubeSats making up the NASA ELaNa XIV mission, riding as secondary
payloads aboard the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-1 mission, which will
launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

RadFxSat is a partnership with Vanderbilt University's Institute for Space and
Defense Electronics (ISDE) and hosts four payloads for the study of radiation
effects on commercial off-the-shelf components. It will carry a Fox-1 style FM
U/V repeater with an uplink on 435.250 MHz (67.0 Hz CTCSS) and a downlink on
145.960 MHz. Satellite and experiment telemetry will be downlinked via the DUV
subaudible telemetry stream, which can be decoded using FoxTelem software
available from, https://www.amsat.org/foxtelem-software-for-windows-mac-linux/
.

AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, N0JY, said RadFxSat/Fox-1B will
automatically come up in beacon mode, transmitting a beacon and voice ID
("RadFxSat Safe Mode") every 2 minutes, starting about 50 minutes after
deployment. He said AMSAT command stations will want to see voltage and current
data to determine that the spacecraft is healthy and to conduct various tests
before opening it up for general use.

Telemetry should begin about 55 minutes after deployment. "[F]or the next 72-96
hours at least, as we look for successful startup, watch the general health and
function as the satellite begins to acclimate to space, and perform the on
orbit checkout," Buxton said. Ground stations are invited to continue uploading
received telemetry for the life of the satellite.

Those using FoxTelem to capture telemetry are asked to check "Upload to Server"
in the software's settings and make sure that ground station parameters are
provided. "You can help AMSAT and everyone waiting to get on the air with
RadFxSat tremendously, by capturing RadFxSat telemetry," Buxton said.

In the initial beacon mode, the transmitter is limited to 10 seconds "on" time,
followed by a 2-minute "off" cycle. "If we are seeing good data from user
telemetry data, it is likely when it comes over the US for the first good pass,
we will command it from beacon mode to normal safe mode, which then puts
RadFxSat in full, but still safe mode, operation and transmits a full two
frames of telemetry," Buxton said.

Buxton called on the satellite community to be "polite and patient" as RadFxSat
is commissioned.

"The on-orbit check-out procedure is similar to Fox-1A/AO-85 and could be
completed in as little as a few days, if we have the cooperation of the users,"
he said. "It is very important - not to mention just plain good amateur
operating practice - to refrain from using the transponder uplink, so we can do
the on-orbit tests, including when we turn on transponder mode for testing. I
can't
stress enough, the importance of this cooperation, not just for us but for all
users, simply having a little patience so we can conduct the tests as quickly
and accurately as possible."

Buxton said AMSAT would "make it broadly known" when the transponder is
available for general use. "If you hear someone on the transponder, please
don't assume that it is open for general use," he said. "Check the AMSAT
website, Facebook, Twitter, to be sure you're not accidentally jumping in and
unwittingly interfering with the commissioning process."

NNNN
/EX

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