Two new satellites have been launched on 19th November 2018 from Spaceflight’s SSO-A SmallSat Express mission.

The Launch of Fox-1Cliff satellite took place from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. In addition to carrying experiments on board from Vanderbilt and Penn State universities, the Fox-1Cliff has the Fox-1 U/V FM repeater and AMSAT’s L-Band downshifter. There is also a VGA camera provided by Virginia Tech that will provide images at a resolution of 640 x 480, much higher than that aboard the AO-92.

Anticipation is high for the Qatar Satellite Company’s Es’hail-2 geostationery satellite that is carrying two AMSAT transponders that was launched by SpaceX on 15th November 2018.

According to AMSAT-DL, the satellite will first complete several orbital maneuvers, then enter a commissioning phase before ending up in geostationary orbit. While hams will understandably be enthusiastic about giving reception reports, AMSAT-DL is requesting reports be made only after the official release so as not to get in the way of the commissioning phase. Think of it as a “repeater in the sky” for some regions where it will almost constantly be visible, such as Africa and Europe. It is said to have the potential to link amateurs from Thailand to Brazil. The satellite will be carrying two transponders for amateur radio, operating in the 2400 MHz and 10450 MHz bands.

More Information - https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/eshail-2/