FUNcube was launched 21 November 2013 at 07:10 UTC on a Dnepr rocket from Yasny Launch Base. Since then, we have had FUNcube systems in
UKube-1, QB50p1,
Nayif-1 and
the upcoming
ESEO and
JY1SAT spacecraft, bringing the total FUNcube
payloads launched for STEM education and amateur radio to six.
1-FUNcube AO-73
2-UKube-1,
3-QB50p1
4-Nayif-1
5-ESEO
6-JY1SAT
FUNcube Payload Telemetry Dashboards
Sunday, December 2, 2018 should see two more satellites carrying FUNcube payloads launched into orbit.
With that launch, JY1Sat and ESEO will join FUNcube-1 (AO-73) and Nayif-1 (EO-88).
The FUNcube team have been busy, not only designing and implementing
the payloads, but also working on the Telemetry Dashboards and the Data
Warehouse.
Each satellite has a dedicated dashboard and we have created a one page summary (
FUNcube Dashboard Summary v1) of those dashboards, their current version number and a dedicated download link.
Telemetry Dashboard
We have included the recommended warehouse settings for each
satellite as well as the “FCD Centre Frequency”. Note that the frequency
we quote is 20 kHz offset from the published telemetry downlink to
allow for the zero Hertz spike and close in phase noise that is inherent
on SDRs.
Currently, to view the telemetry for a particular satellite, it is
necessary to run the dashboard for that satellite. Any telemetry for one
of the other FUNcube satellites can be captured and forwarded to the
central data warehouse. For this reason, some users tend to run all
dashboards simultaneously using the same FUNcube Dongle. Users should
remember the that dashboard that was started last, is the one that will
control the frequency settings applied to the FUNcube Dongle.
These dashboards are under continual development and the next planned
development is to create a single dashboard that will service all
FUNcube Telemetry payloads simultaneously. Keep a look out for further
news on this unified dashboard in 2019.
ESEO satellite in the anechoic chamber at the ESTEC test facilities, in the Netherlands
Telemetry Data Warehouse
All telemetry received via the dashboards is forwarded to the central
data warehouse, providing you have registered for an account. This has
been a very successful part of the FUNcube project as it has allowed for
worldwide data collection by amateurs and for all the data to be
available to download and used for educational purposes.
With the pending launch of two additional satellites, some changes
where required to allow this data capture to continue in an efficient
manner. The data warehouse has a new user interface and all satellite
data can be assessed with one URL –
http://data.amsat-uk.org/
Once at the new user interface, simply select the satellite you are
interested in, and all the usual telemetry will be available along with
the list of current data providers to the database for that satellite.
Both the dashboards and the data warehouse are under continual development, so be sure to check back for updates.
The FUNcube team is very grateful to all radio amateurs worldwide for
their continued support and we encourage you all to join in with the
reception of JY1Sat and ESEO telemetry upon a successful launch this
Sunday.
73s Ciaran Morgan M0XTD
de UK-AMSAT
