ELFIN

I'm a cubesat! Run by @UCLA students, doing cool @NASA work while zipping through the Van Allen radiation belts.

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

And a special thank you from ELFIN B to some of our final ELFIN listeners. There's so many to name & we couldn't name them all but we appreciate every one of you. #cubesat #amsat Also, ELFIN really misses being in space with our launch buddies
@citronaut_dave
@PolySat. Ad astra!

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

The number of radiation belt observations is a good metric for how much science ELFIN collected. Papers have been written on just 1-2 good crossings. With thousands, we get good statistical analysis on amounts of energy coupling magnetosphere + atmosphere. #spaceweather #cubesat

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

Here are some final messages sent back from ELFIN B before reentry. #cubesat #amsat

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

ELFIN-B has officially deorbited. It's an end of an era for us, but the science lives on.
https://t.co/UdNWdiihqY

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

ELFIN B still lives! Pass occurred about 4.5 minutes early. New downlinks are scheduled at the following times:
9/30/22 07:45:00
9/30/22 09:13:00
9/30/22 12:33:00
9/30/22 13:32:23
9/30/22 14:09:00
#amsat #cubesat #elfinucla

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

@scott23192 that's a great downlink! hope ELB will still be up there for us in about an hour ;)

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

@satcolintel5 @SatNOGS we received 3 valid science packets from the @NASA_Wallops dish at 2:15:42...so fingers crossed it'll survive at least one more UCLA pass 🤞

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

ELFIN B will be doing ~5 minute downlinks at the following times (in UTC):

09/29/22 08:11:15
09/29/22 14:08:05
09/29/22 17:00:00 (final UCLA pass)
09/29/22 20:19:00
09/29/22 21:48:24
09/29/22 22:54:18
09/30/22 00:22:02
09/30/22 02:16:00
09/30/22 03:46:00

#amsat #cubesat

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

@scott23192 Darn, if only we started that downlink a few minutes earlier. We'll try again tonight ;)

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

ELFIN B will reenter in roughly 24 hours. ELFIN B's final few days were spent observing reflected radiation belt electrons at low altitudes as well as the effects of increased atmospheric drag on the stability of a spinning spacecraft. #cubesat #amsat #spaceweather #elfinucla

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

And here's one more fun video from exactly 4 years ago. There was a software bug where we couldn't turn off a few burn resistors for our antenna deployment, so they burned so long our batteries got stressed to 60° C for an hour or two during early orbit.

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

On Sept 17, 2018 (exactly 4 years ago), we had our first real downlinks from the ELFIN CubeSats. #elfinucla #cubesat #amsat

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

Today, we had our last...rest in peace ELFIN A. We will miss you dearly. 🛰️

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

@EU1SAT @SatNOGS Unlikely. Those are not valid ELFIN frames. The waterfall looked empty as well.

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

ELFIN A has deorbitted...we think probably sometime between 10 UTC and 14 UTC. Not quite an end of an era yet...we still got ELFIN B! #amsat #cubesat

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

@EU1SAT @SatNOGS Thanks for finding that! Looks like @JA1GDE may have gotten the last listen. Thank you!

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

We want to thank everyone that has listened to us and contributed to @SatNOGS. Not only are you helping us with our science data, but you are also inspiring young engineering students here at UCLA with your dedication to amateur radios. #elfinucla #amsat #cubesat

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

Looks like @EU1SAT got the last demodulated packets from ELFIN A around 8:30 UTC and maybe M0GKK had the last sighting of ELFIN A's signals... https://t.co/LUYuNyRdOs

[Joseph Remis @jremis]

Update: obj. 43617 ELFIN A decay prediction: September 17, 2022 UTC 14h53mn ± 7h

[ELFIN @elfinucla]

ELFIN A will attempt to ~10 min downlinks at the following times in UTC:
09/17 05:45 (UCLA)
09/17 07:02 (Japan)
09/17 08:32 (Japan)
09/17 11:27 (Europe)
09/17 12:20 (South Africa)
09/17 12:56 (Europe)
09/17 17:14 (UCLA)
09/17 23:12 (East Coast)
09/18 00:45 (East Coast)

#amsat