Please explain the purpose of operation: |
Cubsat experiment
The purpose of the radio operation is to uplink telecommand signals to the ArduSat-1 satellite, and to download gathered data from the satellite. ArduSat, short for ?Arduino Satellite?, is an educational nanosatellite built in the CubeSat form factor that carries a suite of sensors and an experimental Arduino-based payload computer that can be reprogrammed while in space. The user-programmable payload computer is comprised of an array of AVR processors, and can run code developed on the ubiquitous Arduino software development platform. ArduSats were 4invented with the purpose of creating an inexpensive, accessible development platform in space on which students, teachers, hobbyists, and researchers could affordably create and run their own custom-built experiments and applications.
ArduSat-1 will be launched to the International Space Station on a regularly-scheduled resupply mission in the summer of 2013. Once the resupply vehicle has docked with the space station, ArduSat will be deployed using JAXA?s external CubeSat deployer. Following deployment, ArduSat will remain in low-Earth orbit for a short lifetime, during which we will perform proof-of-concept tests on the payload computer, and allow early Kickstarter contributors to perform on-orbit experiments and take pictures. Simulations of orbital decay, based various atmospheric and solar flux models, predict that ArduSat-1 will remain on orbit between 12 to 18 weeks, after which it will safely reenter the upper atmosphere and burn up. No part of the ArduSat-1 satellite will survive re-entry and reach the ground.
The development of ArduSat-1 began in April 2012 as a volunteer effort by four graduate students at the International Space University. In June 2012, those founders formed the ArduSat Inc, a not-for-profit corporation whose purpose is to make the ArduSat space development platform accessible and affordable to students. The ArduSat project was featured on the crowd-funding website Kickstarter where, in addition to raising substantial awareness and attracting nearly 700 private space enthusiasts as direct contributors, it raised enough support to fund the development of two 1U ArduSat satellites. |