CAS-7B – a combined Amateur Radio and educational satellite which is shown above – is scheduled to launch on Monday 22nd July 2019.

The Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) is working on the project with the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), one of the most famous aerospace universities in China. Many teachers and students from the university are participating in the development and testing of the satellite and the university is also providing support for the launch.

CAMSAT CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, reports that CAS-7B (BP-1B) is expected to launch on July 22 at 0500 UTC, on the Hyperbola 1 vehicle. CAS-7B is a spherical spacecraft, 500 millimetres (approximately 19.7 inches) in diameter with a mass of 3 kilograms (about 6.6 pounds).

The CW telemetry beacon will be on 435.715 MHz. The V/U FM 16 kHz wide transponder downlink is 435.690 MHz, and the uplink is 145.900 MHz. The launch from Jiuquan will be into a 300-kilometre (approximately 186-mile), 42.7° inclination orbit.

With the help of CAMSAT, the university has established an Amateur Radio club with call sign BI1LG and many students are members and are enjoying learning all about Amateur Radio satellite communication.

Because of the orbital apogee and the size and mass of the satellite, the orbital life of the satellite is expected to be only one week, up to a maximum of one month, which will also provide with an opportunity for Amateurs to track and monitor the satellite entering the atmosphere.

More Information - https://amsat-uk.org/2019/06/02/cas7b-bp1b-satellite/