Fox-1A

VR2GY

Fox-1A is a 1-Unit CubeSat carrying an FM repeater that will allow simple ground stations using an HT and an “Arrow” or “Elk” type antenna to make contacts using the satellite. Data Under Voice (DUV) is used to send 200 bps FSK telemetry data at the same time as FM audio. This is achieved by making use of sub-audible frequencies below 200 Hz. The FM voice transponder was activated during Friday, October 9.

Fox-1A frequencies, see Operating Guide to set up your rigs memory channels:
435.180 MHz FM Uplink 67 Hz CTCSS PL tone required
145.980 MHz FM Downlink
Note: If your rig has selectable FM filters use the wider filter for 5 kHz deviation 25 kHz channel spacing.

VR2GY

                Fox-1A Launch Date                                                        Posted on January 17, 2015  by  W6GYC               
                                                AMSAT has received a launch date for the Fox-1A satellite. Fox-1A will be launched on August 27, 2015 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on the NROL-55 flight for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The launch time has not been announced.
Fox-1A Operating Frequencies include:
Uplink 435.180 MHz FM
Downlink 145.980 MHz FM
The AMSAT Fox series of satellites will include additional opportunities for launch during 2015-2016:

• Fox-1B will fly with the Vanderbilt University radiation experiments expected in 2016.
• Fox-1C* will launch on Spaceflight’s maiden mission of the SHERPA multi-cubesat deployer during the 3rd quarter of 2015.
• Fox-1D is a flight spare for Fox-1C. If not needed as a spare it will become available to launch on any open launch slot which becomes available and be submitted in a Cubesat Launch Initiative (CSLI) proposal in 2015.
• Fox-1E is built as a flight spare for Fox-1B but has been included in a student science proposal as part of the November, 2014 CSLI for an ELaNa flight slot. If selected the Fox-1B spare will fly as Fox-1E.
  

* The flight for Fox-1C has been purchased by AMSAT. It is not funded by the Cubesat Launch Initiative ELaNa program. Fundraising for the $125,000 launch costs for Fox-1C are underway. We have commissioned aunique challenge coin for donors who have contributed at the $100 level or higher. This challenge coin is shaped as an isometric view of a Fox-1 CubeSat, complete with details such as the stowed UHF antenna, solar cells, and camera lens viewport. Struck in 3mm thick brass, plated with antique silver, and finished in bright enamel, the coin is scaled to be approximately 1:4 scale, or 1 inch along each of the six sides. The reverse has the AMSAT Fox logo.

VR2GY

Meet The Fox ProjectWhat is the Fox Project?

CubeSats were once just a cheap way for university students to build and launch a satellite. But they have become the hottest new technology in the space industry. NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office (“spy satellites,”) Aerospace Corporation and even Boeing have all launched and operated CubeSats. And now, the NASA Educational Launch of Nano satellite (ELaNa) program, which offers free launches to education and encourage science missions, is open to US non-profit corporations like AMSAT. Project Fox is AMSAT’s answer to this new, emerging technology. AMSAT is developing a family of CubeSats with amateur radio transponders that can support advanced science experiments. We are working with universities on science and education missions that qualify for the NASA ELaNa program. This provides us with a way to put ham radio transponders into orbit and provides our university partners with a reliable platform for space-based research projects.

Fox-1 Engineering Prototype.

Our Phase 1 Fox satellites are 1-Unit CubeSats. They each include an analog FM repeater that will allow simple ground stations using an HT and an “arrow” type antenna to make contacts using the satellite. This was the mode made so popular by AO-51. The Phase 1 CubeSats also have the capability of operating in a high-speed digital mode for data communications. Two of our phase 1 Fox satellite projects (Fox-1 and Fox-1B“RadFXSat”) have already been accepted into the NASA ELaNa program for free launches.  AMSAT has purchased a launch for a third (Fox-1C) on a Spaceflight SHERPA with a 3Q 2015 launch to SSO.