Note - Mode changes are approximate and usually occur at ~ 02:00 UTC.
For additional information see AO-51 Full Schedule and News

AMSAT Launches Work on Eagle ACP Ground Segment

Team Namaste, a new AMSAT engineering team, was introduced at the Dayton Hamvention held over May 16-18. AMSAT's Eagle and the Intelsat Phase IV ride-share project will include the Advanced Communications Package (ACP) supporting digital communications with a 5.6 GHz uplink and 3.4 GHz downlink.

Team Namaste includes the ACP Ground Segment led by Michelle, W5NYV and the ACP Satellite Segment led by Matt, N2MJI.

Michelle described the ground segment, "Namaste is the effort to develop a microwave band, digital signal capable earth station attainable by the average ham so users can immediately take advantage of the audio, digital messaging, and video services our new satellites will provide."

Two key user audiences are the target of the Namaste earth station. Michelle describes the user base, "First we want to excite amateur radio operators who want to have fun using microwave bands to talk through a satellite employing digital communications techniques. Second, we want to serve emergency communications operators who need a reliable, infrastructure-independent system in order to get their work done."

The Ground Segment and Satellite Segment Teams are developing an RF link budget and system configuration which a reasonably priced amateur radio transceiver can attain. No commercial amateur radio gear exists for the GHz-frequency range and digital communication link for the new mode on AMSAT high orbit satellites.

Antenna configuration and available power are limited on the satellite platform depending upon solar cells and batteries. Given the modern reality of CC&R's and antenna restrictions in many communities the baseline antenna at the amateur station is currently specified as a half-meter dish. This is the same type and size of dish many homes use for satellite television such as DirecTV.

Planning for the ACP includes 20 watts RF power with 18dB antenna gain at the spacecraft. The ground segment rule of thumb at present estimates 10 watts of transmitter power with the half-meter dish is needed. Further radio link budget and RF exposure safety issues are also being investigated.

AMSAT welcomes Team Namaste, leading the way to an exciting future of Amateur Radio in Space. Questions and comments can be sent via e-mail to namaste-dev@amsat.org. Team Namaste has a web page at: http://www.amsat.org/namaste.

Do you receive your own copy of The AMSAT Journal? If not, join today! It is one of your key membership benefits of AMSAT to keep you completely informed of all the latest developments and technical information.

Updated: 12 Jun, 08