Greencube is an exciting satellite. The orbit is MEO (Medium Earth Orbit), and the average distance to Earth is 6,800 km. Greencube carries seeds for plants to grow under microgravity conditions.The results of this project will allow production of vegetables in space to support future human space missions. Future astronauts will have access to fresh and nutritious food along their journey!
Greencube in the lab. Photo: Italian Space Agency.
Greencube is a tiny satellite measuring 10 cm x 10 cm x 30 cm. It was launched by ESA from French Guiana on 13. July 2022. NORAD ID is 53106. AMSAT has designated the satellite IO-117. The satellite carries a digipeater for ham radio operating at 435 MHz.
Greencube footprint (www.n2yo.com)
I've decided to operate via Greencube. The footprint is huge compared to the current LEO satellites. I have never tried operating a digipeater before. The distance to the satellite is between 6,800 km and 10,000 km. There are some challenges here!
OZ1BXM ground station for Greencube.
My ground station for Greencube is a Yaesu FT-847 VHF/UHF transceiver. Greencube software runs on my Windows 10 computer. My antenna is a 9-element X-Quad (vertical polarization) controlled by 2 rotators, one for azimuth and one for elevation.
The challenge was installing the software. There were in total 6 different programs to install and configure. It took me several long days to complete.
I had my first QSO via IO-117 on January 6th with S57NML in Slovenia. It was fun and challenging. Later followed a QSO with W5CBF in Louisiana, USA. There is plenty of DX to chase on this satellite!
Link: ZR6TG Adventures with Greencube Satellite
Link: Tracking Greencube: https://www.n2yo.com/?s=53106
73 from OZ1BXM Lars, oz1bxm.dk
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