GRBBETA: A new amateur radio mission soon to sail the skies

GRBBETA - an amateur radio satellite of a nanosatellite class, the size of 2U, to be launched on Ariane 6 maiden flight.

Our engineers successfully integrated the brand new GRBBeta satellite, which is set to venture into space on board Arianne 6 on its maiden flight later this year.

The satellite is equipped with Murgas transceiver, that contains digital repeater for amateur radio community. Therefore, GRBBeta presents a unique opportunity for the radio amateur community, providing all aspects of simple reception up to active VHF/UHF -> S-band digital transponder services, strongly supported by the availability of onboard software/firmware upgrade opportunity. More details about all services for amateur radio operators can be found on IARU page.

As the name suggests, GRBBeta is a successor to the world-renowned GRBAlpha, the first CubeSat to detect a gamma-ray burst (GRB) from space (currently over 120 transients detected and counting). GRBBeta is building on its success and will also serve as a testbed for a whole range of new technologies that are going to be crucial for the future constellations of GRB-detecting satellites currently in the works. The entire project would not be possible without the cooperation of a multitude of partners from around the globe. Namely, the Faculty of Aeronautics of Technical University of Košice as the prime contractor of the project, then Konkoly Observatory in Hungary (GRB detector, S-band radio, infrared positioning sensors, mission operations), Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto (UV camera), Masaryk University (scientific coordination of the mission, data analysis, help with the mission integration and operations) and, of course, Spacemanic (platform, launch and testing provider).

After all the checkouts of GRBBeta are done, the satellite was integrated into the payload deployer by Exolaunch and shipped to French Guayana for the final integration under the fairing of the rocket before the launch. We are genuinely excited about this launch and will keep you updated about the journey of this small but mighty satellite/science lab.