F-1 (satellite)
Vietnamese CubeSat deployed from the ISS in October 2012.
F-1, also known in Vietnam as Vệ tinh nano F-1, was a Vietnamese CubeSat developed by FSpace laboratory at FPT University in collaboration with the Angstrom Space Technology Center (ASTC) at Uppsala University, Sweden, and the American company Nanoracks. It was notable as an early Vietnamese student-built satellite and for carrying an advanced three-axis magnetometer designed in Sweden.
Quick Facts
- Mission type
- Technology demonstration
- Operator
- FPT University/Uppsala University
- Mission duration
- Failed to contact ground stations; 100 days (planned)
- Spacecraft type
- CubeSat
- Manufacturer
- FPT University
- Launch mass
- 1 kg / 2.2 lb
- Dimensions
- 10 × 10 xx (1U)
- Launched
- 21 July 2012, 02:06:18 UTC
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- F-1 was initially planned to have a mass of 3 kg before being revised to 1 kg.
- A follow-up mission called F-2 was planned for the QB50 project but was possibly cancelled.
- The satellite's telemetry year count started from 2012, with 2012 equal to 0.
The satellite
F-1 was built as a 1U CubeSat with a structure of aluminium alloy T-6061 and a mass of 1 kg. Power was supplied by body-mounted solar cells and a rechargeable Li-Polymer battery, with PIC16 and PIC18 micro-controllers managing operations. The satellite carried two independent amateur-radio transceivers: a Yaesu VX-3R handheld on the 2-meter band and another on the 70-cm band, using dipole antennas. Communication occurred on VHF and UHF bands at 1200 bit/s, employing AFSK and PWM Morse code modulation with the KISS protocol.
The payload was a low-resolution C328 camera (maximum 640 × 480 pixels, 8-bit color). Sensors included temperature sensors and a three-axis magnetometer (the Spin-Dependent Tunneling Magnetometer, or SDTM, designed by ASTC). The satellite operated only in daylight. Its UHF beacon transmitted on 437.485 MHz with narrow FM modulation and about 0.2 W RF output, sending a 20-second pulse-width-modulation Morse code telemetry beacon every 90 seconds.
The VHF radio operated on 145.980 MHz with AFSK/FM modulation at 1.0 W RF output, sending three telemetry packets in KISS format every 30 seconds. Telemetry packets contained time in UTC, a year count starting from 2012, battery voltage (accurate to 0.01 V), solar cell voltage (accurate to 0.10 V), and temperature readings (offset by +100). The packet was 112 bits divided into 14 bytes.
Launch and status
F-1 launched on 21 July 2012 aboard Kounotori 3 (HTV-3) along with RAIKO, WE WISH, Niwaka, and TechEdSat-1. It was delivered to the ISS and deployed into orbit on 4 October 2012 using the J-SSOD attached to the Kibō module's robotic arm. As of 2 November 2012, communication with F-1 had not been confirmed after deployment. The satellite decayed on 9 May 2013.
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