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Meetup session on 8/16/2021

Meetup session on 8/16/2021

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We have a meeting on 8/16/2021, rescheduled from the usual time, Second Monday. We will meet 8/16/21 at 6:30PM, for this one time only. Then, back to 2nd Monday of the month. Our Mission:The intent of this aerospace team is to develop open source cislunar and interplanetary trajectories using the NASA GMAT scripting language. This is disruptive technology. A) Open Source Mission TrajectoriesWe are applying open source techniques to the development of cislunar and interplanetary trajectory planning and optimization using…

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Downloading the GMAT OVA from Google Drive

Downloading the GMAT OVA from Google Drive

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From a YouTube example:https://drive.google.com/u/0/uc?export=download&confirm=aX0L&id=1kzAvPC-xBoMwWMfVFNYOENtZr8U9fbua You get a prompt that the file is too big to scan for viruses, but clicking Download anyway works. If needed, skip the virus scan prompt. The file is too large (4gb) to be scanned by Google Drive virus scan.

Placing Microsatellites into LEO using a Launch Vehicle with 3D Printed-

Placing Microsatellites into LEO using a Launch Vehicle with 3D Printed-

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“This document outlines the design, business strategy and concepts behind Stratodyne Aerospace Inc.’s plan to launch small satellites into low earth orbit at low cost and with high reliability. There is a rising need for launch vehicles for small class satellites that aren’t launched in large constellations funded by big aerospace companies. Universities, non-commercial groups, and even individuals are developing microsatellites, mainly CubeSats, and it is this market that Stratodyne would like to target. The Tengine rocket is an air launch to orbit vehicle powered…

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Building A Simple and Inexpensive CubeSat Satellite Ground Station – Part 2

Building A Simple and Inexpensive CubeSat Satellite Ground Station – Part 2

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By Bob and Jann Koepke In part 1, Bob and Jann wrote about the USB SDR (Software Defined Radio), the LNA (Low Noise Amplifier), and various sateliite antennas.  Now in part 2 (the final part), they describe the software, the QFH (Quadrafilar Helix antenna) they built, and how to put everything together.

Building A Simple and Inexpensive Satellite Ground Station – Part 1

Building A Simple and Inexpensive Satellite Ground Station – Part 1

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By Bob and Jann Koepke When we think of ground stations for satellites, large antenna arrays and dishes immediately come to mind, along with a lot of expensive electronics.  But you can receive transmissions from many satellites using very inexpensive equipment.  An inexpensive RTL-SDR (Software Defined Radio) USB dongle and an omnidirectional antenna is a good start.

Satellite Deployments From ISS Resume

Satellite Deployments From ISS Resume

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Forbes (2/27, Knapp) reported that NanoRacks “celebrated” the deployment of two Planet Labs satellites from the ISS on Friday. The company’s launchers had malfunctioned last summer and required “several months of work and repair.” NanoRacks External Payloads Account Manager Conor Brown said that the success is a “testament” to how well the ISS partners can work together with commercial companies. – AIAA See Forbes Article, here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2015/02/27/watch-satellites-moving-into-orbit-from-the-international-space-station