SwissCube rotation slowing

The Amateur Radio satellite SwissCube launched Sep 23 continues to perform well and the rotation speed is now decreasing.

From the SwissCube Live site http://swisscube.epfl.ch/

SwissCube is still doing well and alive. Over the last weeks, we have had several passes with lots of data and several passes with no data at all (besides the beacon). The satellite has experienced a few resets (5 since launch), which can be expected. That did not impact its functioning.

One newly involved student, Angelo, has been performing radiation tests at the Paul Scherrer Institute, in Villigen Switzerland, on the MSP 430 microcontroller. He could characterize its performance compared to ARM type controllers. Quite interesting... we are impatiently waiting for his report. We will post it as soon as possible.

Coming back to Swisscube, it is still rotating very fast, which prevents us from taking pictures. Leaving it alone, its rotation is actually decreasing, as can be seen in the graph below (thanks Anton!). The data seen in the graph comes from the analysis of the RF signal. If SwissCube keeps the same slowing rate, we should be able to start the bdot controller onboard by the end of January.

For those interested in the daily activities, you can check the live data received from the satellite on: http://www.swisscube-live.ch/

Graph showing decrease in rotational velocity over last 6 weeks
http://swisscube.epfl.ch/images/rotation.jpg