January 2, 2012 | Amateur Radio & Scanning
ARISSat-1, the amateur radio satellite that was pushed out of the International Space Station just last August, is quickly falling back to earth at an increasingly fast pace.
Current calculations for the satellite’s re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere range between now and January 16. On Friday, the satellite was losing approximately 3.6 miles a day in altitude, compared to only 2.5 miles in altitude just three days earlier, UK AMSAT reports. UK AMSAT also reported that the satellite is starting to warm up as it falls closer to the earth. You can check the satellite’s temperature via ARISSat-1′s telemetry page.
The satellite has been plagued with setbacks since launch, including a missing second antenna and a failed battery. In both cases, the satellite is still operable but limited some functions, particularly when the satellite is in eclipse. There may only be days left for hams to work ARISSat-1 before its certain death as it re-enters our atmosphere.
AMSAT has created a Chicken Little contest for the public to predict when the satellite will re-enter the atmosphere. The contest is split into three categories: adults, high school, and kindergarten through middle school. There is also a contest that is geared towards gathering telemetry from the falling satellite. The station that receives the last telemetry report will receive a certificate from AMSAT. Details on both contests can be found on the AMSAT website.
Brazilian ham Roland Zurmely PY4ZBZ is keeping tabs on ARISSat-1 as it falls, including some interesting graphs on its increasing rate of descent.
Tags: 144 MHz, 440 MHz, Amateur Radio & Scanning, AMSAT, ARISSat-1
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