We are no longer seriously trying to establish a data-link connection
with the satellite. It is still alive and continues to send signals, but
not as often as it used to, due to the battery problems.
However, the main motivation to end attempts now is that the we are now
all busy writing our master thesises, and thus only have limited time to
support further attempts. We hope to find the time to make some extended
vacuum tests of the batteries, though.
While the project has not been a full success, according to the success
criteria, it has provided the following:
- Excellent education and "hands-on" experience for all involved
students. Success criterion 1
- We have established contact with the satellite. Success criterion 2
- We have downlinked very simple telemetry. Partly fulfilling success
criterion 3
The last success criterion would be to successfully take pictures of the
Earth and transmit them back to the ground station.
From the telemetry we have received, we have been able to conclude:
- Internal temperature is close to what is predicted by our thermal
model
- The battery capacity has declined much faster than expected. This will
be investigated further with ground tests.
- Power Supply Unit, On-board Computer and modem work as supposed taking
into consideration the operation limitations imposed by battery.
- The radio/antenna system transmits with much less strength than
anticipated
Through the complete project a large working body of knowledge has
evolved and this know-how will benefit the next small student satellite
project to be build at the university. This project will be announced
fully within a couple of months.
We would like to thank all companies, organisations and individuals,
who have supported the project. In particular we would like to thank
Carsten Grøn and Poul-Henning Kamp for help with acquiring and
decoding the weak signals from the satellite.
Thanks for the interest!
The AAU-Cubesat team - www.cubesat.auc.dk