SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS001
ARLS001 New satellite planned
 
ZCZC AS80  
QST de W1AW  
Space Bulletin 001  ARLS001
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington, CT  January 4, 1995
To all radio amateurs
 
SB SPACE ARL ARLS001
ARLS001 New satellite planned
 
New satellite planned
 
A satellite now being designed in South Africa will include an
extensive Amateur Radio package and is scheduled for launch in
January 1996, according to South African amateur satellite
enthusiasts, as announced in a release from Henry Chamberlain,
ZS1AAZ.
 
Called Sunsat, the satellite is being designed and built by
engineering students at the Electronic Systems Laboratory at
Stellenbosch University.
 
In exchange for a US National Aeronautics and Space Administration
launch, Sunsat will carry a precision GPS receiver and a set of
Laser retro-reflectors, for NASA's use.
 
The Amateur Radio payload was approved at the SA-AMSAT Spacecon 91
Conference.  It includes duplicate transmitters and receivers for
the 2-meter and 70-cm bands, a 24-cm (1260 Mhz) receiver and 13-cm
(2400-MHz) receiver.  A number of uplink and downlink frequency
combinations are possible.
 
Sunsat will offer extensive digital communication capability.  One
of the 2-meter receivers has four IF sections connected to 1200-baud
AFSK packet modems.  The satellite carries three G3RUH-compatible
9600-baud modems that can be switched to various receivers and
transmitters.  The designers say that ground-station requirements
are minimal.  Data communication between stations running 10 W
transmitters and dipole antennas will be practical. Since large
quantities of data can be stored in the satellite, global data
transfer will be possible.
 
Sunsat carries a number of educational experiments, including a
2-meter ''parrot'' mode repeater intended for amateurs new to
satellite operating. Uplinked speech will be digitally stored  and
retransmitted on the same frequency, enabling school users to hear
the retransmission and know that they are getting through.
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