Artist’s impression of UKube 1. Photo: ClydeSpace.
[Via Satellite 08-26-2014] The United Kingdom Space Agency’s first CubeSat mission, UKube 1, is experiencing an anomaly with its primary communications link. The agency reports that while the satellite is healthy and its attitude has been stabilized, the anomaly is preventing normal operations for payload commissioning.
Launched in July, the satellite hosts payloads developed by Airbus Defence and Space and academic institutions. The U.K. Space Agency said the educational payload FUNcube 2 has been tested and is running at high-power so schools can capture data more easily.
Seeking to circumvent the anomaly, the U.K. Space Agency has employed an alternative configuration of the FunCube transceiver, using it as the satellite’s downlink. The agency hopes to stabilize the platform over the coming weeks and allow payload commissioning.
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http://www.satellitetoday.com/technology/2014/08/26/communications-anomaly-hampers-uk-smallsat/