The coordinating group of the IARU (International Amateur Radio Union) has thus attributed to PicSat the frequencies 145.910 MHz (uplink) and 435.925 MHz (downlink). This information was being eagerly awaited before starting work on the flight model of the satellite, and in particular on its radio system.Now validated by the IARU, the frequency allocation requestcan be submitted to the IUT (International Telecommunication Union) via the ANFR (Agence Nationale des Fréquences - the National Frequency Agency).
a fruitful collaboration with radio amateurs
The attribution of frequencies is a vital step to enable communication between the satellite and the ground stations. That these frequencies can be used is due to a fruitful collaboration with radio amateurs.It also involves a counterpart - the installation of a transponder on the satellite, accessible to all radio amateurs equiped with V/UHF material when the instrument is not operational.
For the last few months, the REF (Réseau des Émetteurs Français - Network of French Transmittors) and the AMSAT- Francophone have contributed technical supportto the project.The REF has, for example, played its role as the interface with the IARU of which it is a member, for the frequency allocation request in the radio amateur frequencies. Many thanks !
The PicSat has been developed within LESIA’s Astronomical High Angular Resolution pole, which is responsible for creating interferometric instruments based on integrated optics and monomode filters, for the study of stellar environments. A small satellite like this one, on the CubeSat standard, can be finished in imposed two year deadline, which is very fast compared to other missions.
observe the stellar transit of the Beta Pictoris b
The principal objective of this project is to observe the stellar transit of the Beta Pictoris b planet. Discovered at the VLT in 2009, the planet orbits its star at a distance of several tens of AU ; measurements made since 2003 suggest that its environment will transit its star sometime between July 2017 and March 2018. This will involve the passage of the empty space left in the circumstellar dust disc by the recently created planet, as well as the possible transits of satellites and rings, if there are any.
Picsat is due to be launched this Summer.
