UNITEC-1 in New Scientist

New Scientist magazine reports on the interplanetary Amateur Radio satellite UNITEC-1 which has fallen silent.

UNITEC-1, built by Japanese university students, was launched on May 20 at 2158 UT but its Amateur Radio beacon on 5840.0 MHz fell silent a few hours later.

The New Scientist says:

The growing length of the silence has the mission team worried that the spacecraft has broken down. "But we are still working to receive the signal," says team member Naomi Kurahara.

Though the UNITEC-1 mission may have failed, there will likely be similar attempts soon, says Robert Twiggs KE6QMD of Morehead State University in Kentucky, who pioneered the development of small satellites called CubeSats. "I believe it will be a trend in the near future," he says. "I would expect to see students planning some missions now and attempts being made within the next five years."

Read the full New Scientist article at
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18982-first-
studentbuilt-interplanetary-mission-goes-silent.html