AMSAT P4-A ground station on its way to Qatar

January 16, 2019 5 pallets with a total weight of about 705 kg are on their way to Qatar as of today (January 16, 2019).

This is the ground segment for the NB and WB transponders on P4-A / Es’hail-2, which will be built by the AMSAT-DL team and installed at the Satellite Control Center (SCC) and Es’hailSat teleport, respectively. In addition to LEILA, this also includes receiving and transmitting equipment for DATV (DVB-S2) and SSB. Furthermore, an amateur radio station is to be set up in the new Es’hailSat office building, which will be serviced by radio amateurs employed there and the QARS.

Almost identical equipment will be provided to the QARS for its headquarters in Doha. Among them is a 2.4 meter offset mirror. With this, SSB and DATV operation is also possible, e.g. as backup and for emergency operation. Discussions are also underway with the Institute of Computer Science & Engineering at Qatar University on technical cooperation. It also aims to get students excited about amateur radio.

Next Planned Steps:

• Departure of the AMSAT-DL P4-A team to Doha / Qatar.
• Installation and commissioning of the P4-A ground station in the SCC of Es’hailSat.
• Sample DATV link with the AMSAT-DL ground station at the Bochum Observatory.
• Installation and commissioning of the P4-A backup station at the QARS.
• Official ceremony and inauguration of the transponder by the president of the QARS
• After that the transponder is released for general operation!

Important Notice:

Until the official release of the transponders no uplink to the satellite!