Elementary School's SSTV CubeSat ISS Deployment

After postponements earlier this year, the STMSat-1 CubeSat constructed by pupils at St Thomas More (STM) Cathedral School in Arlington, Virginia, was deployed Monday 16 May 2016.

The spacecraft is equipped with a slow-scan TV (SSTV) payload that will transmit on the 70 centimeter Amateur Radio band (437.800 MHz).

The school won a NASA competition for the launch. The satellite is the first to be designed and built by grade schoolers, who have been supported by NASA technical advisors and local radio amateurs.

Transported to the ISS in December by an Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft, the kit-built satellite first had been scheduled for release in mid-February, but that event was postponed until early March, before being put on hold again.

"The STM Sat-1 mission is to perform Earth observation and engage grade-school students around the world as remote Mission Operation Centers," the STMSat-1 website explains. The satellite project is part of the school's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education initiatives. St Thomas More includes students from pre-kindergarten through grade 8. The project aims to engage other schools around the world as "Remote Mission Operation Centers".

NASA's Technology Demonstration Office provided the school with a mobile "clean room" to ensure that the construction phase met with strict guidelines and standards for launch and deployment from the ISS. The space agency also provided the school with an antenna, so the school can receive the SSTV images and temperature readings the satellite sends back. The students already have tested their CubeSat by sending it aloft on a tethered balloon.

The SSTV camera onboard STMSat-1 will transmit a Martin-2 image every 30 seconds. It will not transmit a beacon signal, however. The youngsters are hoping it will send back images of Earth as seen from space. The transmitter runs 3 W, and there is no onboard data storage capability.

STMSat-1 has an estimated lifetime of at least 9 months.

STMSAT-1 - http://www.stmsat-1.org/rmoc/

UK Schools Mass launch of 434 MHz Balloons

UK Schools have successfully launched 25 balloons transmitting on 443 MHz.

The launch took place at RAF Cosford, with each attached payload containing a Raspberry Pi and tracker telemetry transmitting on a frequency range of 434.010 to 434.790 MHz.

TV Presenter Jason Bradbury, 2E0JAB took part in the launch, his balloon reached 33km before bursting. Bradbury’s balloon was found stuck in a tall tree!

Pi In The Sky telemetry board - http://pi-in-the-sky.com/

Sent into Space - http://sentintospace.com/

Sisters called to White House

A pair of young Seattle sisters who sent a balloon to the edge of space are be received at the White House 

Last September, Rebecca, 10, and Kimberly, 8, went out to Moses Lake with their parents to launch a spacecraft they designed and built. 

“We built a spacecraft that was attached to a weather balloon and parachute,. We launched it in Central Washington. We took it to the edge of space, 78,000 feet up. It’s called the Loki Lego Launcher 1, or L-Cubed-1, because Loki was our cat. Lego because every time we launch we want to send up a different Lego mini figure.”

— Rebecca Yeung, 10

Both girls say they took on the project because they love science, in part because of a really great science teacher they have at Seattle Country Day School. But their father, licenced Amateur Radio Operator Winston Yeung KI7CSK, was another motivating force. 

“Kimberly and Rebecca hope to show other children that science and engineering is not only interesting and accessible for kids, but a lot of fun as well,”

— Amanda Stone, White House Senior Program Manager

The sisters hoped to launch the APRS equipped spacecraft again during their spring break, but the voyage has been postponed until after their trip to D.C.

Rebecca and Kimberly's blog - https://lokilegolauncher.wordpress.com/

KIRO interview - http://kiroradio.com/874/2810767/Seattle-sisters-launch-a-homemade-space-craft-to-the-edge-of-space