Mission Operations

CTS-SAT-1 mission operations are carried out by members of the CalgaryToSpace team, as well as Dr. Burchill's research group.

Mission operations encompass the planning and execution of telecommand scheduling, operating the satellite during overpasses, system commissioning (especially of the ADCS), and decisions related to scientific data collection.

Major Milestones

Timestamps of milestones are in local time in Calgary (America/Edmonton timezone), which alternates between UTC-6 and UTC-7. Timestamps are generally +/- 15 minutes.

• 2026-05-03 01:00 -06:00 - FrontierSat launched on the CAS500-2 SpaceX Falcon 9 mission.
• 2026-05-03 02:17:19 -06:00 - FrontierSat was deployed and powered on.
  • Timestamp derived based on EPS uptime from first received beacon packet via SatNOGS.
• 2026-05-03 03:44:11 -06:00 - First beacon observed via the SatNOGS network. FrontierSat confirmed operational on-orbit.
• 2026-05-10 11:59 -06:00 - First successful telecommand uplinks.
• 2026-05-10 12:32 -06:00 - More successful telecommand uplinks. Successfully set the message in the beacon packets to "Happy Mother's Day from CTS FrontierSat". Successfully synced the satellite's time via radio telecommand.
• 2026-05-11 12:13 -06:00 - Used a telecommand to reboot the EPS in attempt to fix the battery/solar panel reporting glitch.
• 2026-05-22 11:52 -06:00 - Enabled ADCS power for the first time, and stored angular rates to a file.
• 2026-05-24 06:37:45 -00:00 - First telecommand response downlink received via SatNOGS.
• 2026-05-26 12:11 -06:00 - Installed the T/R Switch PCB, Rev 1 in the control room and successfully uplinked command(s) through it.
• 2026-05-28 22:40:57 -00:00 - Beginning of intentionally downlinking tons of command responses (>100) to validate the capabilities of the SatNOGS network. Downlinked many copies of EPS data, root filesystem listing, ADC battery voltage read, and ADCS identification.
• 2026-05-30 20:24:36 -00:00 - First BULK_FILE_DOWNLINK-type packet downlink (and received by SatNOGS). Packet contained initial ADCS commissioning data from 2026-05-22.
• 2026-05-30 15:28 -06:00 - ADCS file decoded. Initial angular rates, as of 2026-05-22, were approximately 1 degree/second, as measured by the rate sensors, or 0.1 degree/second measured in the "approximate" telemetry request. The rate sensors are presumably more accurate.
• 2026-05-30 23:53 -06:00 - Requested ADCS coarse sun sensor values for the first time, alongside EPS solar panel power data. Received data wasn't too useful yet, but
• 2026-05-31 07:09:10 -00:00 - First LOG_MESSAGE-type packet downlinked (and received by SatNOGS) after enabling the radio log sink.
• 2026-05-31 08:42:21 -00:00 - First LOG_MESSAGE packet containing an emoji downlinked.
• 2026-05-31 12:09 -06:00 - Uplinked telecommand to switch to the HSE (High-Speed External) clock on the OBC, which enables more accurate timekeeping. Subsequent logs and telecommand responses indicate the switch was successful, and that time syncs with the EPS are occuring less frequently than before (i.e., OBC timekeeping is more accurate).