Fox-1D, AO-92 or AMSAT OSCAR 92[3] was an American amateur radio satellite. Fox-1D was a 1U CubeSat developed and built by AMSAT-NA. Fox-1D carried a single-channel transponder for mode U/V in FM. Fox-1D had an L-band converter (the AMSAT L-band downshifter experiment), which allowed the FM transponder to be switched on an uplink in the 23 centimetres (9.1 in) band.
| Mission type | Communications |
|---|---|
| Operator | AMSAT[1] |
| COSPAR ID | 2018-004AC[1] |
| SATCAT no. | 43137[1] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | University of Iowa, Virginia Tech, Pennsylvania State-Erie, Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation |
| Launch mass | 1.3 kilograms (2.9 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 12 January 2018, 03:59 UTC |
| Rocket | PSLV-XL C-40 |
| Launch site | Satish FLP |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 3 February 2024 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Eccentricity | 0.0011184[2] |
| Perigee altitude | 490 kilometres (300 mi)[2] |
| Apogee altitude | 505 kilometres (314 mi)[2] |
| Inclination | 97.5331°[2] |
| RAAN | 238.3110°[2] |
| Argument of perigee | 77.5681°[2] |
| Mean motion | 282.6806°[2] |
| Epoch | 24 June 2018[2] |
| Revolution no. | 2484[2] |
To enable it to launch under NASA's ELaNa (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) program, the satellite continued to carry the following scientific and technical payloads:
- High Energy Radiation CubeSat (HERCI);
- Camera Experiment;
- MEMS GYRO Experiment.
The satellite had a single whip antenna for the 70 cm and 23 cm bands (uplink), as well as an antenna for the 2 m band (downlink).
Mission
editThe satellite was launched on 12 January 2018 at 03:59 UTC with a PSLV XL rocket, along with the main payloads Cartosat-2F, NovaSAR-S, and 31 other small satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India. At 05:17 UTC, the antennas were deployed over the North Pole and the satellite began to work. At 05:28 UTC the first telemetry was received and commissioning occurred over approximately two weeks.
By 2021, Fox-1D had experienced battery degradation and became rarely operational, occasionally being turned on and then defaulting into "Safe Mode" at the next eclipse. The satellite re-entered Earth's atmosphere on 3 February 2024.[4]
_Transponder_Mode_Beacon.png){kind=tracking}
| Frequencies | |
|---|---|
| 145.880 MHz downlink | FM, data transmission DUV 200 bit/s and FSK 9600 bit/s, 400 - 800 mW |
| 435.350 MHz uplink | FM CTCSS 67.0 Hz |
| 1,267,350 MHz uplink | FM CTCSS 67.0 Hz |
