Sergei Volkov prepares to launch the mini-satellite – Image credit NASA
2011 UNESCO Report – Look up! It’s the UNESCO educational satellite!
The satellite, known variously as ARISSat-1, Radioskaf-B (радиоскаф) and KEDR or “Cedar”, weighed 30 kg, measured 550 x 550 x 400 mm and was developed by amateurs, including secondary-school students in Russia, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
It is the prototype test flight of a proposed series of amateur educational satellites being developed by amateur radio organizations in cooperation with RSC-Energia (Russia) and NASA (United States). It commemorates the 50th anniversary of the first manned flight into space by the Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin, whose call sign was KEDR.
Since the launch, the “UNESCO Satellite” has transmitted images and signals through the ISS on-board amateur radio station which were received by individuals, schools and universities all over the world on the 145.950 MHz (0.5 W) frequency. The satellite also transmitted pre-recorded voice messages in several languages.
The test flight is the first stage of a program on the use of space facilities for educational purposes, as well as for international scientific experiments in the field of basic sciences. This program was proposed by the Russian Federation and adopted at the 35th UNESCO General Conference.
The satellite was deployed from the ISS on August 3, 2011 and fell silent on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere. The last telemetry was captured at 06:02:14 UT on January 4.
Radioskaf amateur satellite page http://radioskaf.ru/en/
UNESCO Space Education Program http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/science-technology/space-activities/related-info/about-sep/
Watch the deployment of the ARISSat-1 KEDR Radioskaf-B (радиоскаф) mini-satellite
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T1aIbvpfFU]