About Cricket Sat

Build and launch a small satellite to collect atmospheric data.

The CricketSat was developed by Professor Twiggs to provide students with a hands-on, interactive learning experience by assembling and operating a simple satellite technology.  The CricketSat consists of a subsystem that provides a modulated frequency proportional to the temperature.  The subsystem transmits a carrier signal modulated by an audio tone that changes the audio frequency in response to temperature changes, for example within the atmosphere.  

The CricketSat can be launched using a small helium balloon and operates at a frequency signal of 433 Megahertz (MHz).  A software radio receiver with radio scanning software, such as HDSDR and Spectrum Lab, that can be download for free, can be used during this project to record specific frequencies relayed from the transmitter on the CricketSat to the receiving ground station (computer, receiver and antenna, which are not included).  To accurately translate transmission signals, calibration is necessary.  Calibration establishes a direct correlation between temperature and frequency which can be plotted on a graph for students to better understand the correlation.