AO-91 Available for Amateur Use

As of 06:50 UTC 23rd November 2017, AMSAT Engineering officially commissioned AO-91 (RadFxSat/Fox-1B).

AO-91 Available for Amateur Use

AMSAT Vice-President Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, turned over operation to AMSAT Operations in a QSO on the AO-91 transponder with Mark Hammond, N8MH, of the AMSAT Operations team during the pass over the Eastern United States.

N8MH responded and declared AO-91 open for amateur use!

AO-91 was built as a partnership with Vanderbilt University ISDE and hosts four payloads for the study of radiation effects on commercial off the shelf components. The satellite was launched on 18th November 2017 as part of the ELaNa XIV mission, secondary payloads aboard the Delta II rocket that carried the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1) satellite to orbit. AO-91 also features the 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 are downlinked via the “DUV” subaudible telemetry stream and can be decoded with the FoxTelem software.

First Berlin Built D-Star Satellite

First D-Star satellite built by a company in Berlin and to be launched by the Russians. D-Star One will be launched on 28th November 2017 from Vostochny launch site jointly with the Meteor-M №2-1 meteorological mission of the Russian State Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS.

More Information - http://www.orbitalsystems.de/final-tests-of-the-d-star-one-satellite/?lang=en

RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Launched, Designated AMSAT-OSCAR 91 (AO-91)

Delta II rocket carrying RadFxSat (Fox-1B) successfully launched at 09:47:36 UTC on 18th November 2017 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

RadFxSat was deployed at 11:09 UTC. Then at 12:12 UTC, the AMSAT Engineering team, watching ZR6AIC’s WebSDR waterfall, saw the characteristic “Fox Tail” of the Fox-1 series FM transmitter, confirming that the satellite was alive and transmitting over South Africa. Shortly after 12:34 UTC, the first telemetry was received and uploaded to AMSAT servers by Maurizio Balducci, IV3RYQ, in Cervignano del Friuli, Italy. Initial telemetry confirmed that the satellite was healthy.

AMSAT Engineering reminds stations that the satellite will not be available for general use until the on-orbit checkouts are complete. Please continue to submit telemetry to assist the Engineering team in completing the commissioning process.

Press Release - https://www.amsat.org/radfxsat-fox-1b-launched-designated-amsat-oscar-91-ao-91/