SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS016
ARLS016 More Chinese Amateur Radio Satellites are Aloft

ZCZC AS16  
QST de W1AW  
Space Bulletin 016  ARLS016
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington, CT  September 29, 2015
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS016
ARLS016 More Chinese Amateur Radio Satellites are Aloft

Quick on the heels of the September 19 launch of nine satellites
carrying Amateur Radio transponders comes word that three more
satellites were launched on September 25 from the Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center in Inner Mongolia's Gobi Desert.

The CubeSats, identified as Tianwang-1A (TW-1A; SECM-1), Tianwang-1B
(TW-1B; NJUST-2), and Tianwang-1C (TW-1C; NJFA-1), were developed by
students at the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
in collaboration with the Shanghai Engineering Center for
Microsatellites. TW-1A and TW-1B are 2 U CubeSats, while TW-1C is a
3U CubeSat.

The mission's main goal is to experiment with software defined radio
technology in space. The Amateur Radio payloads, which do not
include any transponders, will serve to exchange telemetry,
tracking, and command information with the ground control station.
Telemetry data will be made public, so that radio amateurs around
the world may track and monitor the health of the satellites.

Other payloads include a video camera, along with receivers for
dual-band GPS/BeiDou, Maritime Automatic Identification System, and
Aeronautical Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast. Using MEMS
based cold-gas micropropulsion, it is planned to demonstrate
formation flying by two of the CubeSats along with inter-satellite
communication using GAMALINK 2.4 GHz spread spectrum technology from
Portugal.

According to Michael Chen, BD5RV, of CAMSAT, the satellites have
downlinks in the 435-438 MHz Amateur-Satellite Service allocation.

TW-1A transmits on 435.645 MHz (GMSK 4800/9600 baud, 10 second
transmit interval); TW-1B on 437.645 MHz (GMSK 4800/9600 baud, 20
second transmit interval), and TW-1C on 435.645 MHz (GMSK 4800/9600
baud, 10 second transmit interval).

Note that TW-1A and 1C use the same frequency. The satellites also
may have downlink frequencies in the VHF range.

TW-1A is object 40928, 2015-051D; TW-1B, (NJUST-2) is object 40927,
2015-051C, and TW-1C is object 40926, 2015-051B.

On the same launch was the technology demonstration satellite
Pujian-1, which includes WiFi technology for intra-satellite
communication.

Trevor, M5AKA, said it's believes that Beijing plans another launch
of Amateur Radio payload satellites on October 5.
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