Recent News

FASTRAC Digipeating Announcement

December 1, 2011
Sebastián Muñoz

The FASTRAC satellites have been in operation for more than a year and the team has been able to get a lot of data from them, in great part due to the amazing support from the amateur radio community.

Over the last month the team noticed that one of the on board microcontrollers on FASTRAC-1 which controls one of the experiments has not been booting up correctly. The team has done everything possible to correct this issue apart from turning it off which can only happen if the batteries fall below an specific charge level. Since the satellites have been power positive throughout this whole year the only way this can happen is if the satellites transmit more often. Given that one of FASTRAC goals has always been to eventually provide a platform for amateur radio enthusiasts to use after the primary mission was over, the team has decided to open up FASTRAC-1 to the amateur radio community with the hope as more people use it to digipeat through the satellite, the battery levels will diminish and cause a hard reset of the microcontrollers on board.

The satellite will be configured so that amateur radio operators can use it beginning on Friday Dec 2 at 10:00 AM CST. Starting on this date people will be able to digipeat through the satellites. The call sign and frequencies of the satellite are summarized below in Table 1 and an example of digipeating through the satellite is also shown in Figure 1. To increase the chances of causing a hard reset, it is requested that as many amateur radio enthusiasts try to digipeat through the satellite on the weekend of Dec 10. If you are successful at digipeating through the satellites or have any problems doing so please let us know at fastracsats@gmail.com, through our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/fastracsats) or through the forums on our website (http://fastrac.ae.utexas.edu/for_radio_operators/users/phpBB3/index.php).

Frequency Information for FASTRAC-1



Example of Digipeating through FAST1

Here the example shows KE5DTW (UT Austin Ground Station) digipeating through FAST1 to connect to CALLSIGN. CALLSIGN represents an arbitrary callsign and should be replaced with the callsign of the
station with whom a connection is being attempted. The above example is based on a Kantronics KPC9612+ TNC.

For a PDF version of the announcement please go to the following link: http://fastrac.ae.utexas.edu/FASTRAC_Digipeating_Announcement.pdf

Thanks a lot,

THE FASTRAC TEAM

FASTRAC is Separating!!

March 9, 2011
Sebastian Muñoz

After several months of operating the satellites and verifying that the satellites were working properly, the team has decided to move to the most exciting phase of the mission which involves separating the two satellites so that they can drift apart while establishing a data crosslink between both of them to be able to compute real-time on-orbit relative navigation solutions.

The first separation attempt will occur on Wednesday March 9 at 5:07 PM CST if the conditions for separation are favorable. If they are not, then the team will continue to attempt to separate the two satellites over the next week.

For more information about the separation of the two satellites, please continue to monitor this website as well as our FASTRAC Facebook and FASTRAC Twitter pages. For an interesting animation of how the satellites work in space please check the following link:

http://www.engr.utexas.edu/fastracanimation

FASTRAC Is In Orbit!

November 20, 2010

FASTRAC was launched into orbit on Friday November 19 at 7:21 pm Central Standard Time! It was successfully inserted by a Minotaur IV rocket into a 650 km altitude, 72 degree inclination orbit. FASTRAC has been transmitting beacon and crosslink data which have been received by amateur radio operators around the world.

Control of the satellite was transferred to The University of Texas at Austin shortly after launch vehicle separation at 7:56 pm. The first known FASTRAC beacon received from space was reported by DK3WN in Germany at 12:01 am (CST) November 20. The two FASTRAC satellites, Emma and Sara Lily, were both heard transmitting to ground and crosslinking with each other. Since then, radio contacts have been reported by amateur radio operators around the world.

The University of Texas at Austin Ground Station heard the FASTRAC beacon in its first pass over Austin at 6:22 am. The station plans to verify the command link at the earliest opportunity. Once this occurs, the mission will enter its initial subsystem checkout phase. All satellite systems appear to be functioning as planned based on first look data.

(photo credit: Steven Young/Spaceflight Now)

FASTRAC is launching Tonight!!!!

November 19, 2010

The FASTRAC satellites will be launched into space tonight at 7:24 CST on board a Minotaur IV rocket from Kodiak, Alaska. To watch the launch live, you can go to: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/minotaur/stps26/status.html.

The satellites will be separated from the launch vehicle approximately 30 minutes after launch and then will start beaconing approximately 40 minutes after that. The current predicted TLEs are given at: http://fastrac.ae.utexas.edu/for_radio_operators/users/phpBB3/predictedorbit.php and this will be where the TLEs will be updated once the team receives them after launch. To be able to listen to the satellites, the frequencies to do so are given at: http://fastrac.ae.utexas.edu/for_radio_operators/overview.php.

For more updates on the satellites as launch hour gets closer, please check our Facebook (www.facebook.com/fastracsats) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/fastracsats) pages.

FASTRAC is launching this Month!!!

November 2, 2010
S. Munoz and E. Ferguson

The FASTRAC team is excited to announce that the FASTRAC satellites will launch into space this month on November 19th! This launch marks the culmination of seven years of dedicated work by over 120 University of Texas students.

Currently, the FASTRAC satellites are awaiting countdown alongside five other satellites, all of which have been recently mated to a Minotaur IV rocket located at the Kodiak Launch Complex in Kodiak, Alaska. These spacecraft make up STP-S26, a mission executed by the Department of Defense Space Test Program whose goal is to provide access to space for small satellites and experimental payloads. On launch day, the FASTRAC satellites will be placed into a 650 km altitude, 72° inclination circular orbit so they can begin their mission to investigate technologies that facilitate the operation of multiple satellites in formation.

In preparation for the impending launch, the FASTRAC team has been busy expanding and improving several different areas of the mission. In one area, the team is continuing to put the final touches on the operational procedures of the mission by testing in the Aerospace Department’s radio ground station, aptly named the "Spacecraft Control Center". This testing has consisted of tracking other amateur satellites, establishing communications with them, and communicating through them to other ground stations. In addition, the team has been performing "FASTRAC Mission Operations" simulations with the FASTRAC Flatsat Electrical Testbeds in the Satellite Design Lab. As part of the operational procedures, the team has developed a set of configurable scripts to automate ground station passes with the FASTRAC satellites. These scripts will optimize the amount of data that can be downlinked from the satellites as well as reduce operator error.

On a separate front, the team has worked very hard to create a venue on the FASTRAC website for amateur radio operators. Here HAMs will be able to collaborate and track the FASTRAC satellites when they are in orbit. To facilitate the satellite tracking effort, HAMs will have access to the times for the next ten passes of the FASTRAC satellites above their location. Any data received from the satellites such as beacon messages can be uploaded to the website where the data will be automatically interpreted in graphical form. Through the website, members will also have the opportunity to communicate with the team and other collaborators from around the world.

Along with the creation of a section for amateur radio operators on the FASTRAC website, the team has been establishing a social media presence by creating Facebook and Twitter pages for FASTRAC and updating them regularly. Once the satellites are launched, the latest reported location of both FASTRAC satellites will be tweeted anytime someone tracks the satellites and uploads their beacon messages to the website. You can even set this up to work with your own cell phone if you want to receive tweets about the FASTRAC satellites!

For more information on the FASTRAC satellites please check out the Media Kit link on the website and check for updates on both the FASTRAC Satellites Facebook and Twitter pages!

FASTRAC Ready to go into Space!!

April 19, 2010
Sebastian Munoz

A lot of things have happened over the last year with the FASTRAC satellites since they were delivered back to AFRL in December of 2008.

The satellites succesfully completed a last round of environmental testing at AFRL where they underwent vibration testing, EMI testing, thermal-vacuum chamber testing, and functional testing. Over this past year the flight software was also finalized and tested on the flatsat testbed in Austin as well as on the satellites.

The satellites are now ready to be shipped out to Kodiak, AK where they will be launched into a 650 km circular, 72 degree inclination orbit on board a Minotaur IV rocket at the end of Summer 2010.

Along with getting the satellites ready for launch, the team has been preparing for ground operations by ensuring both ground stations at UT Austin are operational. The team has also been developing the FASTRAC Mission Operations Plan along with automation scripts to operate the satellites during ground station passes.

The Amateur Radio Section of the website is also undergoing a redesign to allow the amateur radio community to collaborate with the team, track the satellites, and upload data they have collected. This section of the website will have graphical data interpretation tools to be able to decode the data received from the FASTRAC satellites. Please check back soon to see all of new features of the website.

If you are interested in receiving more news about the FASTRAC satellites you can also follow us on www.facebook.com/fastracsats and www.twitter.com/fastracsats

FASTRAC Satellites Get Updated Software, New Antennas

June 26, 2008
Stephen Clark

FASTRAC engineers are busily putting the finishing touches on the mission's two spacecraft sitting inside the Pickle Research Campus in northwest Austin.

Since the spacecraft were delivered back to Austin from Kirtland Air Force Base near Albuquerque last November, the team has nearly finished developing software, replaced structural bolts and memory cards, and prepared to attach new VHF antennas to the satellites.

"The software is pretty much finished," said Sebastian Munoz, FASTRAC project manager. "We're just verifying it is ready to go."

Also, three new VHF antennas were recently delivered to the FASTRAC team from Comtelco Industries Inc. of Illinois.

The VHF antennas, each with a mass of just 0.4 pounds, will be used to for space-to-space communications between the two spacecraft while separated at large distances. The antennas will also be used in communications between the ground and the satellites.

The new antennas were ordered to replace larger antennas used on the spacecraft earlier in the mission's development. The FASTRAC team received word from the Air Force Research Laboratory that the older antennas, stretching one foot long from the main body of the spacecraft, were too large to fit inside the mission's allotted space inside the Minotaur IV launch vehicle.

Two VHF antennas will be affixed to FASTRAC 1, affectionately named Sara Lily after one of the engineer's daughters. A single VHF antenna will be fastened on FASTRAC 2, also nicknamed Emma after the daughter of another engineer.

The new antennas are just three inches long and have better performance than the old antennas.

Work on the satellites in Austin is expected to wrap up by the end of the summer, when the two spacecraft will be shipped to an AFRL facility at Kirtland. There the satellites will undergo prelaunch testing, beginning with vibration testing.

"That test basically ensures we can survive the launch environment," Munoz said.

The FASTRAC satellites will also be put in a vacuum chamber to simulate the environment of space, including the wide spread of temperatures the spacecraft will encounter in orbit.

"We'll have the spacecraft operate during part of that cycle to make sure none of the components are damaged," Munoz said.

Officials aim to complete the testing and have the two spacecraft tucked inside a shipping container by December, ready to be transported to the launch site at Kodiak Island, Alaska. The launch is currently scheduled for December 2009.

FASTRAC Satellites to Set Up and Ship Out!

March 8, 2008
Eric Hagen

It is an exciting time for the FASTRAC satellite team and community. The FASTRAC satellites have been officially manifested for launch and have returned to Austin for the first time since 2006! During the next few months the satellite team will be working on the satellites in the newly developed Flight Integration Lab at the Center for Space Research. This new lab, set up in what was previously the CSR library, facilitates the FASTRAC flight build and will soon accommodate other student-built satellite projects from the University of Texas. (The FASTRAC team would like to sincerely thank CSR for its gracious accommodations for our project.)

During the next few months, FASTRAC will be undergoing maintenance before final delivery to the Air Force Research Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Before April 1st, the FASTRAC team will have completely disassembled the satellite, fixed issues including replacing fuses and installing new memory cards, and completely reassembled the satellite. In addition to working on the satellite hardware, several members of the FASTRAC team are also working on satellite software. In order to ensure a completely reliable mission, the software is being fine-tuned to make sure that all known problems are removed from the flight code. While satellite flight hardware and software is being completed, the FASTRAC ground station at the University of Texas W.R. Woolrich Laboratories is also undergoing testing and advancement. The ground station has already performed excellently in simulated satellite passes and the new, student-developed ground station software is extremely exciting.

On April 1st, the satellites will be packaged in their container and shipped off to New Mexico for environmental and pre-launch testing. During this test phase, the satellites will be subjected to conditions that approximate those found during launch and in a space environment. After completing this final phase of testing, the satellites will be launched from Kodiak Island, Alaska in the fall of 2009 on a Minotaur IV rocket. After launch, the FASTRAC crew will be manning the ground station waiting to make first contact with the satellites and begin the mission!

Once again, the FASTRAC team would like to thank the many people involved in helping in this final push. Without the hard work from the team and the community as a whole, the project would never be as close to success as it is today. With a few more months of hard work, the satellites will be ready for their launch into space on the University of Texas' inaugural student-satellite spaceflight.

Satellites Undergoing Testing at AFRL

August 27, 2006
Glenn Lightsey

(The following article will appear in the next issue of Liftoff, the Aerospace Engineering Department's newsletter).

When you look skyward next year on a starry night, you might be hearing the words 'Go Horns!' from space. And we are not talking about UT astronauts like Stephanie Wilson, although they might be saying it too.

This time, it will be coming from twin satellites designed and built by a team of students in the Aerospace Department. They have completed one of the most ambitious tasks ever attempted by students in our Department--to build satellites that will actually fly in space with their own hands. The project, known as FASTRAC (Formation Autonomy Satellite with Thrust, Relnav, Attitude, and Crosslink), is designed to demonstrate key technologies for miniaturized satellite formation flying. The satellites weigh about 20 kg each and are the size of a car tire. The two satellites work together to communicate and navigate off each other. By developing and demonstrating these new technologies, UT students are advancing the cause for future satellites that will work in groups-such as planet-finding space telescopes, and autonomous servicing and repair missions.

If you have been reading previous editions of Liftoff, then you have been following FASTRAC's progress. To recap: UT entered a national competition with 12 other universities to design and build a small satellite (called a 'nanosatellite') experiment. The prize was a winner-take-all promise by the United States Air Force to launch the winning satellites into space. The UT team, led by students Jamin Greenbaum, Thomas Campbell, and Greg Holt, took the prize. After an additional grueling year of modifications and testing (and many sleepless nights!), FASTRAC was successfully delivered to the Air Force Research Labs in Albuquerque, New Mexico in June. It is expected to launch late in 2006 or in 2007.

At every step of the program, students had to innovate just to keep the low-cost satellites moving forward. Fitting an entire functioning satellite inside the volume of a car tire requires exceedingly tight integration clearances. The team had parts of the satellite made out of plastic molds from a fabrication lab in the Mechanical Engineering Department. This allowed them to test integration procedures and fit checks. They also built an electronically identical version of each satellite which sits on a table (known as a 'Flatsat'), so they could test and debug their electrical wiring and software. The flight fabrication had to be done in a positive air pressure 'clean tent' to limit dirt contamination, so the students built that too. Because spacecraft solar panel fabrication procedures are largely unknown outside of a few companies, the team developed their own methods for manufacturing and testing solar panels. Along the way they employed some creative cost saving methods, such as using a turkey oven to bake electronics and a food storage system to vacuum seal components. The innovative GPS receiver that they developed has been included in a US patent application. The list of 'outside the box' solutions that have actually worked goes on.

Now, the FASTRAC satellites have been delivered and are currently being environmentally tested at Kirtland Air Force Base. Once that is completed, they will be integrated to a launch vehicle (probably an unmanned rocket) and lifted into orbit. It won't be just your imagination when you hear the satellite's radio call sign from space: 'Go Horns!'

FASTRAC Satellites Leave Texas

June 25, 2006
Greg Holt

The first student-built satellites from the University of Texas made their final trip from the Satellite Design Lab and began the first leg of their eventual voyage to space. As proud team members looked on, the satellites were loaded into a specially contracted truck for the ride to the Air Force Research Laboratory test facilities in Albuquerque.

Many hours of hard work accompanied the sendoff of the pair, now affectionately named "Sara Lily" and "Emma" after Tom and George's newborns. There were the usual last minute bugs to work out, but the team persevered with the same tenacity that has brought them to this remarkable stage. The students experienced a mixture of elation and bittersweet emotion upon seeing the satellites leave, but an overall atmosphere of excitement is still present as the next phase of the FASTRAC mission begins.

Upon arrival at the AEF lab in Albuquerque, the satellites will be put through a regimen of testing to simulate the launch and orbit environment. This will include vibration, temperature extremes, and vacuum conditions. FASTRAC student manager Jamin Greenbaum will spend the summer at the test facility coordinating and supporting these tests.

Congratulations to all the FASTRAC team members on an amazing milestone in this mission!