BIRDS-X SATELLITE PROJECT

BIRDS-X SATELLITE PROJECT

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  • FAQs

    1) Do the participants pay for something more than delivery fees?

    Participation in the APRS (Automatic Position Report System) competition is free of cost. The additional cost would be the budget for their designed board.

    2) As there are many APRS boards that will be implemented, will there be some form of RF shielding for each of them?

    Yes, RF shielding for each board is one of the requirements.

    3) What is the meaning of ‘Quality of application’ in Phase 1?

    The quality of application means clarity, form, grammar, organization, etc.

    4) How will the transmission license be managed? May APRS board transmit with the participants’ ID from their countries?

    The call sign will be assigned by Japan since the application will be made in Japan.

    5) How much is the gap between each board?

    The gap between each board will be clearly defined on ICD before the beginning of the second phase.

    6) Are participants allowed to transmit data over UHF? As UHF has a higher baud rate than VHF?

    No, participants are not allowed to use it. UHF will be used for satellite telemetry uplink and downlink.

    7) What is emergency data transmission? For example, SOS cannot be transmitted in real time. As the area may not be under satellite’s line of sight. What type of emergency data may be transmitted?

    The scope of the mission is to make uplink of any kind of APRS message not specially for SOS data transmission, but we will use store and forward of the APRS message, so when there is a pass over the ground station the message can be repeated.

    8) Is there any preference or standard guideline about Code Base? Is there any guidelines about microcontrollers that can be suggested to be used? Like, STM, Teensy etc

    We are open to any type of microcontrollers, but we have a standard communication protocol between the Mission Boss and the MCU which usually will be UART. If the MCU can use this communication it must be fine, but more details will be presented in the ICD.

    9) When is the initial iteration of the ICD expected to be released?

    We will share it as soon as possible.

    10) About the environmental test, the flight model PCB should be tested before sending it to Japan?

    Environmental tests will be conducted in Kyutech, but other communication tests (functional tests) will be performed before sending the boards to Kyutech.

    11) What is the meaning of the handled ground station term?

    Handled means the antenna is not fixed, it is a portal connecting with the battery. Ex. the mobile

    12) What is the support available from the Competition?

    BIRDS-X ‘APRS Competitions will support all the participants technically, by continuous webinars within the whole time of competition for each phase. Answering any technical questions according to the mission requirements, supporting each team with technical documents as ICD, to complete their board according to mission requirements. There is no budget support from Kyutech side, each team needs to find their budget source by their own; that is why the budget plan is a term of evaluation points. And evaluating requirement for the budget plan will not be evaluated according to the amount of money, it will be evaluated according if the budget is realistic or not, and if the budget is fitting the purpose of the mission or not. The amount of budget depends on your APRS payload board requirements.

    13) Is there any kind of ADCS in the satellite?

    There is no ADCS subsystem in the satellite.

    14) Is there any maximum power restriction for each APRS board?

    This information will be detailed on the ICD

    15) What is FM in the Board Model Example?

    Alternate File Name

    At APRS Payload block diagram, FM refers to Flash Memory. The APRS board DEPENDS ON the store and forward technique, during the competition we need to download the APRD Packet to evaluate some parameters as the data rate, speed of transition etc. For that the key role of the FM is storing the data for each board and downloading it through MCU.

    16) According to the APRS Payload diagram, there is TNC, if it is possible to use software to design TNC?

    Alternate File Name

    The APRS Reference payload will be designed as hardware, but each team is free to choose how to design its own TNC, hardware or software, provided that the design fits the mission’s purpose.

    17) Is it possible for the participants to add sensors for the APRS Payload, and receive specific data according to their needs?

    During the evaluation period, we will use control data and each team will send the same data for evaluation at first. After the competition, the winning team will have permission to receive their own required data. According to the power budget limitations, the team can add sensors as it is not over-limited.

    18)According to the competition, there are seven APRS payloads, two developed by Kyutech and the other five boards received from the winners. How could satellite be able to change the antenna for receiving data?

    One of APRS Kyutech payloads will be connected with one directed antenna, the other 6 APRS Payloads will be controlled by RF switches from Kyutech side by Mission Boss.

    19) For the APRS Payload power lines, will participants use 3.3 v or 5v power lines?

    According to the APRS Payload diagram, there are two switches, one outside the APRS Payload controlled from Kyutech side, and the other with the APRS payload they can control the 3.3 V or 5v. SO EVERY TEAM BE ABLE TO USE 3.3.v OR 5V. OR BOTH OF THEM.

    20) Is there a Template for Applications?

    Yes. We have a Template for application for phase 1, it is already avalilable on our website, Please refer to this link :

    Link to the Application Form

    21) When is the flight model required?

    The flight model is required for December 2024

  • 2nd Webinar

    2nd Webinar

    2nd APRS Payload Competition Webinar

    Time: 22:00 JST on 27 January 2023

    You can register for 2nd APRS Payload Competition Webinar from this url:

    Register for the Second Webinar HERE

  • 1st Webinar

    1st Webinar
    1st Webinar PresentationDownload
  • Submit your application here

    Submit your application here

    https://forms.gle/nMj7jWM9ogWnQgix8

  • Application Form

    Application Form

    Please find the application form from here. Please fill the required information.

    BXPC_Application format_Phase1Download

    Please find the consent form here. You must submit the consent form along with the application form.

    Consent for Open SourcingDownload

    Submit Application Form HERE

  • Call for Application!

    Call for Application!

    BIRDS-X Team invites application for APRS Mission Payload Design Competition. The competition will be performed in three phases.

    Phases leading to selection of payload

    Phase 1

    Phase 1 will determine the motivation, objectives and expected outcomes of all teams for participating in the BIRDS-X APRS Payload Design Competition. Selection of teams will be made based on the submitted application form and video explaining the motivation, objective, and concept of operations. The application form is available at http://birds-x.birds-project.com.

    Phase 2

    Phase 2 is to determine the commitment and progress of all teams for the development of BIRDS-X APRS Payload and select the 10 best teams to proceed to Phase 3. Each team should have a bread board model developed, Proof of Concept of operation verified and have preliminary test results. Selection of teams will be based on the deliverables summarized in the Progress Report form available at http://birds-x.birds-project.com. More detailed interface control document (ICD) and webinars will be provided for any additional information.

    Phase 3

    Phase 3 is to select the final 5(6) payload designs that will be launched in the BIRD-X satellite. Selection of the final teams will be performed based on the technical compatibility of the submitted Engineering Models with the satellite bus. The payloads will be integrated with the satellite bus and series of tests will be performed. 

    Please find the detailed informations regarding the competition in the following handbook.

    HandbookDownload

BIRDS-X SATELLITE PROJECT

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