The challenge is on - are you up to it? The European Space Agency and S5Lab (pronounced: Ess Five Lab) are inviting hams around the world to get involved in making a special contact through the digipeater of an educational CubeSat known as LEDSAT.

LEDSAT, an LED CubeSat developed by university students in Rome with assistance from AMSAT Italia, was created primarily to demonstrate an LED-based payload to be used with ground-based optical tracking. Starting on June 26th and through to July 30th, it takes on a secondary purpose: It is part of a challenge to hams that will win them the prize of a personalized QSL card designed just for this competition. Hams are being asked to send a digital message via satellite to PI9ESA, the ground station of the ESA's Education Office. The CubeSat follows a sun-synchronous orbit and its digipeater will be activated at certain times. It has two communication windows, one around midday and one at midnight. Operators will be based at the ESA ground station to copy the messages. Hams are encouraged to use their preferred pass-prediction software to assist in the contact.

LEDSAT's digipeater has the ability to store and forward digital messages with a delay of up to two days.

For details about frequencies being used and other procedures of the operation, visit the ESA website.

ESA - http://www.esa.int