NANOSAIL-D Photo Contest

Spaceweather.com and NASA are joining forces ...to encourage photography of NanoSail-D, the first solar sail to circle Earth in low orbit. Amateur and professional astronomers and even casual sky watchers can participate. The solar sail will occasionally be visible to the naked eye when sunlight glints off the spacecraft's 10 m2 sail, producing a spectacular flash akin to an Iridium Flare. Even novice photographers can capture such a bright event. Advanced astrophotographers, meanwhile, will want to try to image the sail through backyard telescopes. It will be a challenge (the sail is only 1 arcsecond across), but even fuzzy pictures could help NASA monitor the condition of the spacecraft. Cash prizes will be awarded to the first ($500), second ($200), and third ($100) place photos, judged by a NASA-appointed panel on the basis of beauty and technical merit.

The contest begins now and ends when NanoSail-D reenters the atmosphere in April or May 2011. Visit nanosail.org for details

NASA Needs YOUR Help!

NASA Seeks Amateur Radio Operators' Aid to Listen for Beacon Signal

On Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 11:30 a.m. EST, engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., confirmed that the NanoSail-D nanosatellite ejected from Fast Affordable Scientific and Technology Satellite, FASTSAT. The ejection event occurred spontaneously and was identified this morning when engineers at the center analyzed onboard FASTSAT telemetry. The ejection of NanoSail-D also has been confirmed by ground-based satellite tracking assets. Amateur ham operators are asked to listen for the signal to verify NanoSail-D is operating. This information should be sent to the NanoSail-D dashboard at: http://nanosaild.engr.scu.edu/dashboard.htm. You can follow the mission via this dahboard link.

According to the mission dashboard NanoSail-D ejected on 1/17/11 at approximately 1900 PST. Beacon data is being routinely received by the public throughout the world. The NanoSail-D beacon signal can be found at 437.270 MHz. Telemetry now indicates that the sail has deployed.

If you look at http://dtusat.dtu.dk/index.php?id=121, NanoSail-D was launched with other nanosats. Their beacons are also on the air as follows:

O/OREOS 437.305 MHz
RAX 437.505 MHz
FASTRAC-A 437.345 MHz
FASTRAC-B 145.825 MHz

The current element set for the NanoSail-D follows:

NANOSAILD
1 90027U 0 11020.08293137 -.00000469 +00000-0 -58126-4 0 00027
2 90027 071.9753 005.7427 0021680 201.8671 158.1355 14.77033912000116