EIRSAT-1 and CubeSat Deployer
EIRSAT-1 launched on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, USA, at 1819 GMT on Friday, December 1, 2023. It has a downlink on the IARU coordinated frequency of 437.100 MHz, see https://iaru.amsat-uk.org/finished_detail.php?serialnum=639
Watch the launch live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l64-hEGeXZY
Information on the beacon can be found at https://github.com/ucd-eirsat-1/beacon
Preliminary TLE at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mNKpfPlnwJQYWjs2C9t3_D9tfSN7Mb8L/view
ESA: “The first confirmed recording of EIRSAT-1 from each continent (Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, South America, and Oceania) within a week of launch will be rewarded with a QSL card from ESA!” https://www.esa.int/Education/CubeSats_-_Fly_Your_Satellite/Calling_all_radio_amateurs_be_the_first_to_hear_satellite_EIRSAT-1_from_orbit
EIRSAT-1 was built by students from University College Dublin under the framework of ESA Academy’s Fly Your Satellite! programme (FYS) – a fully hands-on initiative supporting university student teams in the development of their own satellites.
Lead by students from the UCD School of Physics and the UCD College of Engineering, the project began in 2017 when the team’s proposal to build a CubeSat to perform gamma ray astronomy was accepted as part of the 2nd cycle of FYS.
The 2-unit CubeSat carries three experiments – or ‘payloads’. The primary science payload GMOD is a gamma ray detector that will study the most luminous explosions in the universe, gamma ray bursts. Secondary payloads include a thermal coating study that will assess the performance of surface treatments for satellites as well as an alternative system for controlling spacecraft orientation.
Source ESA article https://www.esa.int/Education/CubeSats_-_Fly_Your_Satellite/Ireland_s_first_satellite_on_its_way_to_launch
Follow the EIRSAT-1 team on X at https://twitter.com/EIRSAT1
EIRSAT-1 website https://www.eirsat1.ie/