I am posting this with some hope that there are some HAM or other radio enthusiasts who are willing to lend a hand with tracking down some satellites.
Here is some background.
On March 14, 2023, six CubeSats were launched onboard a SpaceX shuttle from Cape Canaveral on their journey to the ISS (International Space Station).
Finally, on April 24, 2023, all six satellites were deployed from the ISS into Earth orbit. Over the following few days, radio contact was made with two of the six satellites.
However, in the preceding and following days, around April 23-28, there were significant solar storms, CME (Coronal Mass Ejections). These resulted in fantastic opportunities to observe stunning displays of the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) in places where they are not normally seen, as far south as Arizona.
Unfortunately, this did not bode well for the newly launched satellites. Solar storms can bring disaster to orbiting satellites resulting in millions of dollars lost.
As of this week, we have no radio contact with all six newly launched satellites.
The best site for satellite information and tracking is n2yo.com.
If you click on Satellites on Orbit, and then Amateur radio under the Categories list, you will find information on the six recently launched satellites.
The first six satellites on the list are the ones we are trying to track. NEUDOSE and LIGHTCUBE were both active for two days after launch.
Click on the name of the satellite for detailed information. (See the sample screen shot below.)
The satellite downlink frequency is on the 70cm HAM band.
Click on the link Amateur radio satellite passes for the next 6 hours and it will give you the times for passes at your specific location and your local time. Note that clicking on this link takes some time to load as the host site has to collect the data before it can be presented.
I have both an SDR (Software-Defined Radio) set up and a 2m/70cm HAM radio. I have yet to pickup any satellite.
The definitive confirmation is if you can detect the doppler shift in the radio frequency as it passes overhead then you know you've got it.
If you are willing to try tracking these or any other satellite or can provide any assistance in this endeavor, we would be delighted to hear from you.
You may post any new information here on this thread.
Thanks, and good luck!
Here is some background.
On March 14, 2023, six CubeSats were launched onboard a SpaceX shuttle from Cape Canaveral on their journey to the ISS (International Space Station).
Finally, on April 24, 2023, all six satellites were deployed from the ISS into Earth orbit. Over the following few days, radio contact was made with two of the six satellites.
However, in the preceding and following days, around April 23-28, there were significant solar storms, CME (Coronal Mass Ejections). These resulted in fantastic opportunities to observe stunning displays of the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) in places where they are not normally seen, as far south as Arizona.
Unfortunately, this did not bode well for the newly launched satellites. Solar storms can bring disaster to orbiting satellites resulting in millions of dollars lost.
As of this week, we have no radio contact with all six newly launched satellites.
The best site for satellite information and tracking is n2yo.com.
If you click on Satellites on Orbit, and then Amateur radio under the Categories list, you will find information on the six recently launched satellites.
The first six satellites on the list are the ones we are trying to track. NEUDOSE and LIGHTCUBE were both active for two days after launch.
Click on the name of the satellite for detailed information. (See the sample screen shot below.)
The satellite downlink frequency is on the 70cm HAM band.
Click on the link Amateur radio satellite passes for the next 6 hours and it will give you the times for passes at your specific location and your local time. Note that clicking on this link takes some time to load as the host site has to collect the data before it can be presented.
I have both an SDR (Software-Defined Radio) set up and a 2m/70cm HAM radio. I have yet to pickup any satellite.
The definitive confirmation is if you can detect the doppler shift in the radio frequency as it passes overhead then you know you've got it.
If you are willing to try tracking these or any other satellite or can provide any assistance in this endeavor, we would be delighted to hear from you.
You may post any new information here on this thread.
Thanks, and good luck!
