Daniel Estévez has written of his work to decode ESCAPADE, a mission launched earlier this month aboard Blue Origin New Glenn mission NG-2 and with the goal of studying Mars.
“ESCAPADE is a twin spacecraft mission that will study the Mars magnetosphere. The science mission is led by UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory and the spacecraft buses were built by Rocket Lab,” Daniel explains. “It was launched on November 13 on the second Blue Origin New Glenn mission NG-2. The spacecraft will spend a year around the Earth-Sun L2 Lagrange point before falling back to Earth for a powered gravity assist that will place them on Hohmann transfer orbit to Mars as the ‘launch window’ to Mars opens. These are the first spacecraft to fly this kind of trajectory.
“The day after launch, I used two antennas from the Allen Telescope Array to record the X-band telemetry signals of the two spacecraft, which were approximately 200,000km away from Earth. I used the ephemerides from HORIZONS to compute an azimuth and elevation time series to point the ATA antennas. The observation was done on November 14, which was the first time that the spacecraft were visible over the US west coast after launch.
“The telemetry modulation is PCM/PSK/PM, meaning that telemetry is BPSK-modulated on a subcarrier, which is phase modulated onto the RF carrier, leaving a residual carrier,” Daniel continues. “There are two configurations seen in this recording. The higher rate configuration uses 16 kbaud and a 64kHz subcarrier. The low rate configuration uses 2.5 kbaud and a 25kHz subcarrier. Note that these all use a subcarrier/baudrate ratio that is an integer, as recommended by CCSDS in order to have zero telemetry power at the residual carrier frequency. The coding is CCSDS Turbo code with rate 1/2 and 1115 byte frames in both cases. The telemetry frames are CCSDS TM Space Data Link frames.”
The full write-up, including a look at an “unusual feature” of the telemetry, is available on Daniel’s website; the recording itself has been uploaded to Zenodo.
Maker Anders Nielsen has released the design for a compact, open-hardware receive-only software-defined radio dubbed the PhaseLatch Mini – as part of a project to build a capable, modular SDR driven by a vintage MOS 6502 eight-bit processor.
“The PhaseLatch Mini [is] an [STMicroelectronics] STM32-based direct-conversion SDR front-end paired with simple Python host scripts,” Anders writes of the radio, his second SDR design after the larger PhaseLoom. “GQRX reads samples through a USB FIFO, and tuning is handled on the hardware side through the [Silicon Labs] SI5351 synthesiser. With this setup, I was able to cleanly receive HF, FM broadcast, and even experiment (with mixed success) around 144MHz.”
The radio is based on the STM32 Blue Pill development board, with modifications: “Since ADC performance depends heavily on layout, I upgraded the board to include a proper ground plane and clean separation between the sensitive analogue input and noisy USB lines,” Anders explains. “The design is simple: capture I and Q through a passive LC low-pass filter for anti-aliasing, then feed them straight into the MCU’s ADCs.
“The PhaseLatch Mini isn’t the final destination — it’s a fun and capable side project on the path to a much more advanced [MOS] 6502-powered SDR. But it’s already a surprisingly usable 200kHz-bandwidth receiver, and I’ve made boards, kits, and files available for anyone who wants to experiment.”
More information is available on Anders’ website, while design files and source code are available on GitHub under an unspecified licence. Assembled boards are available from Anders’ web store at 199DKK (around £23.30/$31).
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has announced the launch of the Zigbee 4.0 standard, which brings with it a new long-range low-power sub-gigahertz specification: Suzi.
“Zigbee 4.0 lays the groundwork for harmonizing traditional Zigbee and Smart Energy devices,” the Alliance says of the new specification and its sub-gigahertz sibling, “delivering greater interoperability across universal networks. Comprehensive and proactive security updates aligned with evolving international security standards implement cryptographic agility and additional mechanisms to protect the network.
“Alongside Zigbee 4.0, the Alliance introduces Suzi, the new brand for the standards-based wireless technology that extends the reach and reliability of IoT connectivity through long-range, Sub-GHz mesh networking. Built on the proven Zigbee network layer, Suzi combines long-range performance, low power consumption, and multi-vendor interoperability to unlock new opportunities in residential, commercial, and industrial applications. From connecting outdoor living spaces to enabling large-scale networks in buildings and cities, Suzi delivers robust, efficient communication in environments demanding extended coverage and minimal interference.
“The Suzi Certification Program is planned to open in the first half of 2026, enabling manufacturers to begin certifying products that bring the benefits of long-range, low-power mesh networking to the connected world.”
More information is available on the CSA website.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG), meanwhile, has announced its second and final update of the year: Bluetooth Core 6.2, which adds protections against a new form of attack, improves responsiveness, and simplifies host-controller interface packet handling.
“As part of the bi-annual release cadence, Bluetooth Core 6.2 has arrived,” says Bluetooth SIG’s Avi Negrin of the updated specification, the second in its twice-yearly schedule. “This update introduces new features that enhance device responsiveness, strengthen security, and improve communication and testing capabilities. Together, these advancements reinforce the Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s (SIG) commitment to continuous innovation and provide developers with tools to meet evolving market demands.”
The biggest feature of Bluetooth Core 6.2 compared to 6.1 is the lowering of the minimal connection interval for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) from 7.5ms to just 375µs – a move which Bluetooth SIG says will boost responsiveness for a range of devices including game controllers, keyboards, mice, and “latency-sensitive sensors,” though in cases where power efficiency is more important than responsiveness higher values can be used.
The new release also introduces a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) system designed to detect against a novel attack on Bluetooth Channel Sounding-based which have proven to be vulnerable to relay and spoofing attacks using amplitude modulation. While the new DFT algorithm doesn’t prevent the attacks, it does allow them to be detected. Other features include a bulk serialisation mode for the USB Host Controller Interface (HCI) system, designed to streamline Bluetooth LE Audio integration, and improvements to the Bluetooth LE Test Mode including a new protocol for physical layer tests.
Technical documentation on the new features is available on the Bluetooth SIG website.
Hackaday’s Dan Maloney has written about the Survivable Low-Frequency Communication System, a Cold War-era approach to ensuring communications could get through in the event of nuclear war – so that retaliation would be possible, of course.
“During the height of the Cold War, the aptly named Survivable Low-Frequency Communication System was a key part of the United States’ nuclear deterrence,” Dan explains. “Along with GWEN, HFGCS, and ERCS, SLFCS was part of the alphabet soup of radio systems designed to make sure the bombs got dropped, one way or another.
“Like many Cold War projects, the original scope of SLFCS was never fully realized. The earliest plans called for around 20 transmit/receive stations, plus airplanes equipped with trailing wire antennas over a mile long, and more than 300 receive-only sites across the United States and in allied countries.
“But by the time plans worked their way through the procurement process, technology had advanced enough that military planners were confident that they had the right mix of communications modes for the job. In the end, only the Nebraska and California transmit/receive sites were put into service, and even the airborne transmitters idea was shelved thanks to excessive drag caused by that long trailing wire.”
The full article is available over on Hackaday.
Radio ham Peter “VK3YE” Parker has published a video on building a magnetic loop antenna capable of receiving and transmitting VHF signals – out of a tin can.
“This is a magnetic loop that covers from 88 to about 180MHz,” Peter writes of the low-cost antenna, which was born from an earlier tin-can antenna coupler project. “It is super simple. I have 5cm of wire going to about 20 to 25% of the total circumference. And across the ends, I soldered a beehive trimmer. Just to make the adjustment easier, I’ve attached some 12 or 13mm irrigation tubing that forms a snug fit and allows me to adjust it without physically touching the metal, which is definitely an advantage with a magnetic loop antenna because of D-tuning.
“It can be used on both receiving and transmitting. Not sure why you’d use it for receiving on VHF except maybe if you were in an apartment and you had a lot of RF noise, other interference, then just possibly the selective nature of this antenna may help. It may be able to reject some extraneous signals.
“Don’t consider an antenna like this if you’re looking for gain,” Peter warns. “Even a half-wave dipole would be better for that. If you want even more gain, then a small beam or a collinear vertical if you just want to receive well on a single band. All them would be better options than this loop. Still, it’s an interesting experiment. doesn’t cost you anything and just gives you a bit of an idea for what you can do with magnetic loops on VHF.”
The full video is available on Peter’s YouTube channel.
The UK government has announced an investment from the UK Space Agency of £6.9 million for five satellite communications project, through the European Space Agency’s ARTES (Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems) programme.
“Today’s investment shows how the UK’s space ambitions translate into real-world impact,” claims UK Space Agency chief executive Paul Bate. “By advancing satellite communications technology, we’re not only building a globally competitive sector but also ensuring that communities – even in the most remote corners of the UK – can access the services they need. This is space delivering for people and powering our future economy.”
“ESA is committed to supporting a vibrant and striving telecommunications ecosystem in Europe, while achieving a zero-debris environment in space. This milestone, with support from the UK Space Agency, will further strengthen the European autonomy and sovereignty that we are collectively striving for with our Member States,” adds ESA director of connectivity and secure communications Laurent Jaffart.
The funding, valued at up to £6.9 million in total, will be spread across five UK-led projects: Orbit Fab’s Advancing Satcom Technology with Refuelling and Logistics (ASTRAL) project; the Antenna Ground Interface and LunaNet Equipment (AGILE) project at Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall; a non-terrestrial network (NTN) 5G cellular project at Vicinity Networks; the Space Optical Link Integration Study (SOLIS) at Archangel Lightworks with Eutelsat, part of the ESA Sunrise programme; and the second phase of Inmarsat Navigation Ventures (Viasat UK)’s International Virtual Satellite Operators Network.
Finally, Make: Magazine’s Tim Deagan has published a handy guide to different antenna types – and how to spot them out in the field.
“There are easily thousands of different types of antennas serving different purposes. Some are simple lengths of wire, others exotic assemblages of high math and science. Most of the antennas around us are pretty straightforward and have a set of identifiable characteristics,” Tim explains of the guide, which covers the theories behind antenna operation plus how to spot dipole, monopole, directional, and loop antenna types, plus some interesting real-world examples of massive ring antennas and tiny PCB antennas.
“With a few patterns in mind and some rules of thumb, you can usually make a pretty good guess at what most antennas are being used for, or at least the parts of the EM spectrum on which they’re operating.
“We spend our lives constantly bathed in the radio waves propagating around us. Much of our daily activity relies on radio-enabled cellphones, tablets, GPS, and Wi-Fi,” Tim notes. “Recognising the amazing proliferation of antennas can be an exciting way to gain awareness of these tools for manipulation of the invisible forces underlying our modern world.”
The full guide is available on the Make: Magazine website now.