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The EASAT 2 and Hades satellites are scheduled to launch on January
13 on a SpaceX TR 3 flight, AMSAT has reported, citing information
provided by AMSAT EA President and Mission Manager Felix Paez. Both
will carry amateur radio payloads offering FM voice and data
retransmission in FSK or AFSK up to 2,400 bps, and Hades is equipped
for slow scan television and FM voice beacons, with call signs
AM5SAT and AM6SAT, respectively.  Paez has called on the amateur
radio community to listen for both satellites when they are
activated. In the case of EASAT 2, that will be about 30 minutes
after launch, around 1525 UTC. Hades will be activated remotely a
few days after launch. Share reception reports with AMSAT EA on
their website.  EASAT 2 was designed and built by AMSAT EA and
students from the European University of Degrees in Aerospace
Engineering in Aircraft and in Telecommunication Systems
Engineering. It carries an experimental load of a basalt material
from Lanzarote that is similar to lunar basalts.  Its believed that
this material, which was provided by the CSIC research group on
meteorites and planetary geosciences at the Institute of
Geosciences, could be used as a lunar construction material.  During
various investigations, the UNESCO world geopark of Lanzarote and
the Chinijo archipelago have served as an as an analog of the moon
and Mars, as well as for training European Space Agency astronauts,
Paez said. The purpose of the basalt experiment is to determine its
evolution in space based on periodic measurements of some of its
properties.  Although the experiment is limited and constitutes the
first phase of this type of study, it represents an important
milestone as it is the first of its kind to be introduced on such a
small satellite, Paez explained.  The Hades payload consists of a
miniature camera, the output of which will be transmitted as an
audio signal in SSTV mode. The transmissions will be compatible with
Robot36, Robot72, MP73, and MP115. The camera module design was
based on one used successfully in the PSAT 2 satellite, which was
built by cadets at the US Naval Academy and by students at the Brno
University of Technology and has been in use since 2019.  The system
will be controlled completely from the ground. The SSTV firmware
will permit sending live images as well as images saved in flash
memory or encoded in onboard read only memory. It also provides PSK
telemetry and imaging advance scheduling with current status such as
event counters, temperature, voltage, light conditions, etc., and a
brief summary, Paez said.  EASAT 2 Frequencies are, 145.875 MHz
uplink, FM voice with no subtone, and FSK 50 bps, AFSK, AX.25, APRS
1,200/2,400 bps.  436.666 MHz downlink, FM voice, CW, FSK 50 bps, FM
voice beacon with call sign AM5SAT.  HADES Frequencies are, 145.925
MHz uplink, FM voice with no subtone, and FSK 50 bps, AFSK, AX.25,
APRS 1,200/2,400 bps.  436.888 MHz downlink, FM voice, CW FSK 50
bps, SSTV Robot 36, FM voice beacon with call sign AM6SAT.  More
information in English and Spanish on transmissions from both
satellites is available from the AMSAT EA website.  The multiple
websites mentioned in this bulletin can be found in teleprinter,
packet, and Internet versions of 2022 Space Bulletin ARLS001.

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