FUNcube-1 is a complete educational single unit

CubeSat A CubeSat is a class of small satellite with a form factor of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit,, url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5418c831e4b0fa4ecac1bacd/t/5f24997b6deea10cc52bb016/1596234122437/CDS+REV14+2020-07-3 ...

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

with the goal of enthusing and educating young people about radio, space, physics and electronics. It is part of a program which aims to launch more of these educational CubeSats. It is the first satellite with outreach as its primary mission.

FUNcube project

Project

The FUNcube project was started in the UK by AMSAT-UK. The satellite has been developed by a team of volunteers from AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL, and was assembled at ISIS in Delft. It has been designated with

OSCAR Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

number 73 by

AMSAT AMSAT is a name for various amateur radio satellite organizations worldwide. In particular, it often refers to the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, headquartered in Washington, D.C. AMSAT organizations design, build, arrange launches for, a ...

and is now also known as AO-73.

Mission

As part of its mission, FUNcube-1 carries a materials science experiment, from which the school students can receive telemetry data and which they can compare to the results they obtained from similar reference experiments in the classroom. This experiment resembles the

Leslie's Cube Leslie's cube is a device used in the measurement or demonstration of the variations in thermal radiation emitted from different surfaces at the same temperature. Device It was devised in 1804 by John Leslie (physicist), John Leslie (1766–1832), ...

experiment. One of the first schools to use FUNcube-1 in the classroom was ''Abbeys Primary School'' in Bletchley which also featured in the BBC breakfast news two days after launch.BBC Breakfast news item about FUNcube-1
/ref>

Satellite

Instruments

FUNcube-1 is equipped with a UHF to VHF

linear transponder A communications satellite's transponder is the series of interconnected units that form a communications channel between the receiving and the transmitting antennas. It is mainly used in satellite communication to transfer the received signals. ...

with approx 300 mW PEP output and which can be used by Radio Amateurs worldwide for SSB and CW communications during the weekends.

Specifications

Frequencies Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. Frequency is an important parameter used in science and engineering to specify the rate of oscillatory and vibratory phenomena, such as mechanical vibrations, audio ...

: * Telemetry down link 145.935 MHz 1200bd

BPSK Phase-shift keying (PSK) is a digital modulation process which conveys data by changing (modulating) the phase of a constant frequency carrier wave. The modulation is accomplished by varying the sine and cosine inputs at a precise time. It is w ...

with FEC * Transponder Uplink 435.150 - 435.130 MHz LSB (Inverting) * Downlink 145.950 - 145.970 MHz USB Maximum uplink power of 5 watts to a 7 dBi gain antenna, more power is not needed to use the transponder. Transponder is SSB/CW Inverting.

Launch

FUNcube-1 was launched at 07:10:11 UTC on 21 November 2013,RSGB news announcement
/ref>nasaspaceflight.com report of the launch
/ref> as part of the ISILaunch03 campaign,ISILaunch blog
/ref> aboard a

Dnepr rocket The Dnepr rocket (; ) was a space launch vehicle named after the Dnieper River. It was a converted ICBM used for launching artificial satellites into orbit, operated by launch service provider ISC Kosmotras. The first launch, on April 21, 1999, ...

, from Yasny Launch Base, Russia. The launch was contracted by ISL, and operated by

ISC Kosmotras The International Space Company Kosmotras or ISC Kosmotras () is a joint project, between Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, established in 1997. It developed and now operates a commercial expendable launch system using the Dnepr rocket. The Dnepr ...

Distribution

The FUNcube distributed

ground station A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fr ...

network (DGSN) is used in which

radio amateurs An amateur radio operator is someone who uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other amateur operators on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators ...

receive packets and send these via the internet to the central data collection server, called the data warehouse. To enable easy reception, one of the FUNcube team members, Howard Long G6LVB, has created a USB connected receiver called the FUNcube Dongle.

References

External links

funcube.org.uk

amsat-uk.org

amsat-nl.org

FUNcube Data Warehouse
{{Orbital launches in 2013 Spacecraft launched in 2013 CubeSats Satellites of the United Kingdom Spacecraft launched by Dnepr rockets