Detailed Description
Launched May 3, 2002 from Kourou, French Guiana on an Ariane 4 flight V151 carrying SPOT 5 as the primary payload.
Two picosats, designed and built by AMSAT-France, were battery powered and estimated to operate approximately 40 days. They remained fastened to the Ariane 4 third stage with an orbit of 800 km. Both picosats transmitted NBFM voice recorded messages and digital telemetry data. BO-47 on 145.840 MHz and BO-48 on 435.270 MHz. Telemetry data was transmitted in 400 bps BPSK, similar to AO-40's telemetry beacon.
BO-47 (CU1) stopped transmitting after 32 days of operation. Final reports came from Japan.
BO-48 (CU2) stopped transmitting after 14 days of operation. Final reports came from Japan indicating that the battery voltage had dropped to 7V and the RF output dropped to -6dB of its normal level.
Both satellites were equipped with 600 Watt-hour batteries. BO-48, transmitting on 435 MHz, had an output power 10 times higher that BO-47.
The IDEFIX B0-47/48 team would like to thank everyone who spent time listening to the picosats and submitted telemetry data. The whole set of collected telemetry data is available upon request for educational purposes. Contact Jean-Louis F6AGR, President AMSAT-F.
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