Category Archives: Spacecraft

2018-02-14
19:32
by: trango

XHRPT Update

Getting close to releasing XHRPT decoder. Upgraded to now decode MetOp-A/B, FengYun-3A/B/C in addition to the previously supported NOAA-18/19/15 and Meteor-MN2. Here is a short video of a typical pass of MetOp-B AHRPT. The video has been speed up, so … Continue reading →

Posted in Satellites, Spacecraft Tagged ,

2014-10-27
14:30
by: trango

Chang’e 5-T1 and new 1.8m dish online

New spacecraft and new dish were tested this weekend. The spacecraft is the Chinese Chang’e 5-T1, an experimental unmanned lunar mission that was recently launched by the CNSA. The dish is a 1.8m Prodelin offset and is inverted for ease … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects, Spacecraft Tagged

2014-06-24
15:38
by: trango

ISEE-3 Frequency Drift Measured

Based on the latest Horizons update by JPL (based on Arecibo observations) I have measured the frequency drift of the spacecraft TX frequency (transponder A RHCP). It appears to be drifting upward at a rate of 3.3 Hz per hour. … Continue reading →

Posted in Spacecraft Tagged ,

2014-06-24
00:50
by: trango

JPL Updates ISEE3 Horizon Data

Updated my Horizons data for ISEE-3 today and found this nice note: UPDATE (2014-Jun-23): Trajectory updated to JPL solution #32 (s32), based on 42 coarse Arecibo plane-of-sky angular measurements spanning May 22 – Jun 23 … Upon updating things and … Continue reading →

Posted in Spacecraft Tagged ,

2014-06-23
21:39
by: trango

ISEE-3 Signal Getting Stronger

Each day the signal from the old but reliable ISEE-3 spacecraft gets stronger and stronger. I have updated the tracking software to log the signal strength over time. It’s also very easy to see the signal without averaging as shown … Continue reading →

Posted in Spacecraft Tagged ,

2014-06-17
14:23
by: trango

Antenna Tracking Software Updated

I developed this little application a couple years ago to manage shuttle passes for automated s-band reception/recording. I have started using it more for DSN now and so have updated it with some new features. The tracker gets it’s Ephemeris … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects, Spacecraft Tagged

2014-06-16
01:54
by: trango

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) Signal Detected

It’s been an S-Band weekend here. Earlier today the Indian Spacecraft MOM was picked up by DF2MZ as well as UHF-Satcom at a distance of 107 Million km! By the time the spacecraft rose over California Goldstone had locked it … Continue reading →

Posted in Spacecraft Tagged

2014-06-15
02:35
by: trango

ISEE-3 (ICE) Spacecraft Detected

ISEE-3 (ICE) Spacecraft was detected today using a 1.2m dish at 2270.390831 MHz. The signal at this frequency was also simultaneously detected and confirmed by Paul over at UHF-Satcom. The detection was accomplished by integrating multiple FFTs with the spacecraft … Continue reading →

Posted in Spacecraft Tagged ,

2014-06-10
05:04
by: trango

LRO on S-Band

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a nice S-Band (2271 MHz) signal coming from the moon to calibrate your dish. This is especially helpful if you need the accuracy for even higher frequencies where the beam-width is narrower. Below is … Continue reading →

Posted in Spacecraft Tagged ,

2013-10-06
23:27
by: trango

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Here is a quick look at the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) signal. Even though NASA is shutdown as part the US government shutdown, there is still a good signal coming from the LRO. I was doing a quick 1.2m dish … Continue reading →

Posted in Spacecraft Tagged , ,