RadFxSat-2, the Space Radiation Effects CubeSat — also known as Fox-1E — has been selected to participate in NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI). RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E) is a partnership opportunity between Vanderbilt University’s Institute for Space and Defense Electronics (ISDE) and AMSAT, similar to RadFxSat (Fox-1B), scheduled to launch next January. The Fox-1E spacecraft bus will be built as part of the Fox-1 series but will feature a linear V/U (Mode J) transponder “upgrade” instead of the standard FM repeater that Fox-1A through D have carried.

Vanderbilt University, with cooperation from AMSAT, submitted the RadFxSat-2 CSLI proposal in November 2015. Out of 21 proposals, NASA has recommended 20 for participation in the CSLI opportunity. RadFxSat-2 is prioritized as number 1 out of the 20 selected and has been offered an opportunity for a launch date. AMSAT and Vanderbilt University are evaluating the opportunity to see if it meets their mission and orbital parameters.

RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E) will carry a radiation effects experiment similar to the one aboard RadFxSat (Fox-1B), but will also study new FinFET technology.

The downlink will feature a 1200 bps BPSK telemetry channel to carry the Vanderbilt science data in addition to a 30 kHz-wide transponder for Amateur Radio use. Additional mission and timeline details will be forthcoming. — Thanks to AMSAT News Service