FCAL CubeSat Payload
Current Status -- Operational
FCAL containing our CubeSat Payload was successfully launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery on December 12, 2006. Please help us collect telemetry.
Mike Rupprecht, DK3WN’s FCAL telemetry decoder can be downloaded at the bottom of his excellent FCAL web page. Thank you Mike!
We developed the cubesat payload for the FCAL: The Fence Calibration satellite: The ANDE risk reduction FCAL satellite is a 17.5-inch sphere with a mass of 75 kg shown in the center photo above. Its name is derived from its intended use as a calibration target for the radar fence, a space surveillance system recently transitioned from the Naval Network and Space Operations Command to the Air Force 20th Space Control Squadron.
Frequency: The downlink frequency for FCAL is 437.385 MHz AX.25 AFSK1200 baud and the callsign is KD4HBO.
When the FCAL is deployed, the processor boots and initializes all the satellite components. It then waits one minute and deploys the antennas one at a time. There is a one-second delay between the deployment of each antenna. Once deployed, the satellite starts monitoring all the sensors and internal parameters and transmits the telemetry once every two minutes. The satellite can accept commands during this period. The telemetry transmission interval can be set and the receiver audio can be routed to the transmitter to turn the satellite into a transponder. Telemetry data includes voltage and temperature from each of the six phototransistors, battery and power data, and internal temperature data.
The purpose of the telemetry is to determine the spin rate and orientation of the FCAL spacecraft. The arrangement of the MAA and FCAL satellites in a lead-trail orbit provides an exceptional set of targets to study drag modeling and its effect on satellite drag. This mission will demonstrate the effectiveness of flying low-cost calibration targets to support DoD and NASA requirements for precision orbit determination and collision avoidance. In addition, data from this mission will be used to improve the scientific understanding of the interaction between a spacecraft and its environment.
The images below detail how the telemetry from FCAL can be decoded:
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