F-1 (satellite)

Not to be confused with FR-1 (satellite).

F-1, formally known in Vietnam as Vệ tinh nano F-1 (lit. 'Nano satellite F-1'),^[4] was a Vietnamese CubeSat built by FSpace laboratory, FPT University in partnership with Angstrom Space Technology Center (ASTC), Uppsala University, Sweden and Nanoracks, an American company.

F-1

Flight model of F-1
Mission type	Technology demonstration
Operator	FPT University/Uppsala University
COSPAR ID	2012-038E (1998-067CR)[1]
SATCAT no.	38855
Mission duration	Failed to contact ground stations 100 days (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	CubeSat
Manufacturer	FPT University
Launch mass	1 kg (2.2 lb)
Dimensions	10 × 10 × 10 cm (3.9 × 3.9 × 3.9 in) (1U)
Start of mission
Launch date	21 July 2012, 02:06:18 UTC[2]
Rocket	H-IIB F3
Launch site	Tanegashima, Yoshinobu LC-Y2
Contractor	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Deployed from	ISS Kibō Delivered by Kounotori 3
Deployment date	4 October 2012, 15:44:15.297 UTC
Entered service	Failed to contact ground stations
End of mission
Decay date	9 May 2013[3]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Inclination	51.65°
F-1 mission patch

The satellite

Hardware

• Structure: aluminium alloy T-6061
• Power supply: body-mounted solar cells, rechargeable Li-Polymer battery
• PIC16 and PIC18 micro-controllers
• Yaesu VX-3R handheld transceivers
• C328 low-resolution camera
• Temperature sensors
• Three-axis magnetometer (ASTC)
• 2-meter band and 70-cm band dipole antennas

Specifications

F-1 and companion CubeSats at Tsukuba Space Center, June 2012

• Size: 10 × 10 × 10 cm (3.9 × 3.9 × 3.9 in) (1U CubeSat)
• Mass: 1 kg (2.2 lb)
• Communication: 2 independent radios using amateur radio Very high frequency (VHF) and Ultra high frequency (UHF) bands, transmission speed 1200 bit/s; AFSK and PWM Morse code modulation, KISS protocol
• Payload: low resolution C328 camera (640 × 480 maximum resolution, 8 bit color)
• Sensors: temperature sensors and three-axis magnetometer
• Targeted orbit lifetime: at least 3 months on orbit (depend on release altitude from the ISS)

Communication subsystem and packet format

Memorial pins on F-1 resize

Backup UHF channel

• Only operational in daylight
• Frequency: 437.485 MHz
• Modulation: Narrow FM
• Power: about 0.2 watt RF output
• Antenna: half-wave dipole
• Beacon interval: 20 seconds duration, repeated every 90 seconds
• Pulse-Width-Modulation Morse code telemetry beacon, as follows:

No1	Data	Description	Size (bits)	Size (chars)
1	F-1's callsign	"XV1VN"		5
2	OBC1 reset count	Number of OBC1's reset since the beginning	8
3	Temperature 1	°C (temperature inside F-1, OBC board)	8	5
4	Temperature 2	°C (temperature outside F-1, Y- side)	8
5	Checksum bit	0 if summary of items #2 to #4 is even, 1 if it is odd	1
			Total	10

Main VHF channel

• Operational during night time but may be turned on in daylight later
• Frequency: 145.980 MHz
• Modulation scheme: AFSK/FM
• Power: 1.0 watt RF output
• Antenna: half-wave dipole
• Baud rate: 1200 bit/s
• Telemetry and interval: one burst of 3 telemetry packets in KISS format every 30 seconds (interval configurable)

F-1's KISS packet format was as follows:

No	Data	Description	Size (bit)
1	Date time	Date: dd/mm/y: 5/4/3=12 bits Time: hh/mm/ss: 5/6/6=17 bits	29
2	Battery voltage	Battery voltage multiplied by 100 (divide by 100 to get actual value)	11
3	Solar cells voltage	Solar cells voltage multiplied by 10 (divide by 10 to get actual value)	8
4	Temperature 1	°C (side 1, Y+)	8
5	Temperature 2	°C (side 2, Y-)	8
6	Temperature 3	°C (side 3, X-)	8
7	Temperature 4	°C (side 4, Z+)	8
8	Temperature 5	°C (side 5, Z-)	8
9	Temperature 6	°C (side 6, X+)	8
10	Temperature 7	°C (inside side 5, Z-)	8
11	Temperature 8	°C (inside, under VX-3R1)	8
		Total	112 bits = 14 bytes

Note:

• Periodically, F-1 would send a burst of 3 telemetry packets with the same content, to avoid packet loss
• Time in UTC, 24 hours format
• Year count starting from 2012 (2012 equals 0, 2013 equals 1 and so on...)
• Battery voltage reading is accurate to 0.01 volt, values are multiplied by 100. Divide by 100 to get actual value.
• Solar cells voltage reading is accurate to 0.10 volt, values are multiplied by 10. Divide by 10 to get actual value.
• Temperature readings from sensors, will be added with 100 before transmission to ensure a positive number so please subtract 100 to get actual value
• 112 bits, divided into 14 bytes

Manufacturing process

In late 2008, plans for a small satellite were submitted to FPT Software. In early 2009, FSpace laboratory was founded.^[5]

F-1 was initially planned to have a dimension of 10 × 10 × 30 cm (3.9 × 3.9 × 11.8 in) and a mass of 3 kg (6.6 lb).^[6] Later, the satellite's dimension and mass were revised to be 10 × 10 × 10 cm (3.9 × 3.9 × 3.9 in) and 1 kg (2.2 lb) respectively.

Mission

F-1 was planned to train young engineers and students about aerospace engineering and evaluate an advanced three-axis magnetometer, Spin-Dependent Tunneling Magnetometer (SDTM) designed in Sweden by ASTC.^[7]

Launch and status

CubeSats deployed to orbit from the International Space Station on 4 October 2012 (from left: TechEdSat-1, F-1 and Niwaka).

Initially, F-1 was planned to be launched in late 2010.^[6]

F-1 was launched on 21 July 2012 and delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Kounotori 3 (HTV-3) along with the RAIKO, WE WISH, Niwaka and TechEdSat-1 cubesats. Then, on 4 October 2012, it was deployed into orbit from the ISS using the JEM-Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD) which was attached to the Kibō module's robotic arm.^[8][9]

As of 2 November 2012, F-1 failed to confirm communication after the orbital deployment.^[10]

F-1 decayed on 9 May 2013.^[3]

F-2 satellite project

FSpace laboratory had planned a follow-up mission of F-1, called F-2. The F-2 satellite was expected to participate in the QB50 project, with a planned dimension and mass of 10 × 10 × 20 cm (3.9 × 3.9 × 7.9 in) and 2 kg (4.4 lb) respectively.^[11][12] However, F-2 was no longer listed in the QB50's website. It is unknown whether what happened with F-2, however, the project was possibly cancelled.^[13]