EcAMSat

EcAMSat, or E. coli Anti Microbial Satellite, is NASA's first 6U CubeSat, developed to investigate the effects of microgravity on the antibiotic resistance of E. coli. The spacecraft was launched aboard an Orbital ATK Antares rocket from Wallops Flight Facility on 12 November 2017, and was deployed from the International Space Station on 20 November 2017.

EcAMSat
Mission typeBiological research
OperatorSanta Clara University
COSPAR ID1998-067NG
SATCAT no.43019
WebsiteEcAMSat
Mission duration> 120 Days
152.5 hr Main Experiment. [1]
Spacecraft properties
BusNASA NanoSat 1.0 Bus
ManufacturerNASA
Launch mass10.7 kilograms (24 lb)
Start of mission
Launch dateNovember 12, 2017, 12:19 (2017-11-12UTC12:19Z) UTC[2][3]
RocketAntares 230
Launch siteMARS LP-0A
ContractorOrbital ATK
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude405.8 kilometres (252.2 mi)
Apogee altitude413.5 kilometres (256.9 mi)
Inclination51.6 degrees
Period92.6 minutes
EpochNovember 28, 2017[4]
 

Background

During the development of the PharmaSat spacecraft, two identical flight units were built and brought to the launch site, with the FLT-2 unit being the one ultimately launched as "PharmaSat". The FLT-1 unit sat in storage, and was later put to use as a NASA Ames Research Center Mission of Opportunity (MoO) flight, selected for funding under the Stand Alone Missions of Opportunity program. Originally named "PharmaSat-ECAM"[5], EcAMSat was developed from both legacy hardware and software from the PharmaSat mission.

EcAMSat is the fifth mission to utilize NASA Ames Research Center's NanoSat 1.0 bus, which has flown on GeneSat-1, PharmaSat, NanoSail-D2, and O/OREOS.


Operations

EcAMSat is operated by Santa Clara University's Robotic Systems Lab in Santa Clara, California. After deployment, first amateur radio beacon packets were received by amateur radio operator JA0CAW[6] on 20 November 2017, and Santa Clara University closed the S-Band radio link for the first time on 21 November 2017.

EcAMSat transmits an AX.25 beacon packet once every 5 seconds at 437.100 megahertz[7]



See also

References
  1. "E. coli AntiMicrobial Satellite (EcAMSat): Science Payload System Development and Test" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  2. "Space station cargo shipment blasts off aboard Antares rocket". Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  3. "Antares launches Cygnus spacecraft to ISS". Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  4. "Satellite Catalog". Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  5. "Research and Technology Implications and Applications for Very Small (MesoScale) Spacecraft" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  6. "EcAMSat Mission Dashboard". Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  7. "EcAMSat Beacon Packet Decoding" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-11-28.
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