MESAT1 began orbiting Earth on its own on July 4, 2024, at 12:59 a.m. EDT, after riding into space on a Firefly Alpha rocket.
Maine’s first CubeSat was programmed to begin transmitting soon after release. A network of Earth stations was poised to listen.
At 8:01 a.m. EDT, a Japanese ham radio operator, JK2XXK, posted to X (formerly Twitter) what seems to have been the first public indication that the satellite was functioning: “MESAT-1 ON.”
A few minutes later, during the satellite’s first orbit to touch Maine, my computer displayed the distinctive shape of a momentary telemetry burst from the CubeSat’s transmitter.
Dozens of stations worldwide were tuned to MESAT1’s frequency and many heard, saw, and recorded the signals. But hearing is not deciphering; data from the telemetry bursts proved difficult to capture using FoxTelem, the software designed for the task.
On July 5, the satellite’s control stations appealed to radio amateurs on X: “We could really use some help from all @amsat folk to listen for MESAT1 with FoxTelem sending data to the server,” wrote Drew, KO4MA.
Mark, N8MH, followed up: “We need lots of listeners as we work through the checkout list.”
With widespread, diligent efforts by a number of experienced operators, 21 telemetry frames from 6 listening stations had been uploaded by late July 6. Data had begun to flow, but only a fraction of what might have been expected.
On July 7, Vlad, EU1SAT, reported his success from Belarus. On July 9, Toshio, JA1GDE, and Rocco, IK8XLD, announced theirs from Japan and Italy.
Day by day, the challenge continued. On X, Bill, GM0ICF, posted from Scotland, “Got a couple of strong sigs but the FOX decoder didn’t see a thing.” Soon after, Bob, N6RFM, celebrated his first capture in Rhode Island: “Finally!!”
A week later, on a bulletin board dedicated to amateur satellites, JoAnne K9JKM reported from Illinois, “Hearing strong signals but so far decoding nothing.” Her experience was echoed by Mark, K0JM, in Minnesota: “I keep trying different modes in FoxTelem, but nothing locks up.”
Their reports prompted tips from successful stations. Charlie, KB8CR, recommended a frequency setting slightly below the published value, 435798.5 kHz, listening on upper sideband, and using “DAX Audio RX1, not DAX IQ.” Mark, N8MH, said he was adjusting the receive frequency for carrier values of about 1200-1500 in the bottom left screen of the telemetry software.
Assistance and persistence soon paid off for JoAnne, K9JKM. She reported her first capture on July 21 and added her own tip: “Use the MAIN RX with FoxTelem instead of SUB RX.”
By then, about 700 frames had been uploaded by 27 stations, providing valuable data for control operators to assess the health of the satellite and plan its next activities.
At the time of this posting, 784 frames have been uploaded by 29 stations, well over half from three stations in the eastern United States. In a truly global effort, other reporting stations hail from Australia, Belarus, Brazil, China, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.