Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Grayhat, who shares the following update to our post regarding the Lightsail 2:
Some updates about the micro-satellite; first of all, sounds like it may be possible to receive the satellite CW beacon and FSK telemetry data using an SDR and a 70cm Yagi antenna, at least according to what is reported at the RTL-SDR website:
Solar Sail Satellite Lightsail-2 Now Transmitting Morse Code Beacon
By the way, one will also need to be between 42° and -42° latitude to have some hope to pick up the satellite signal; also, the satellite now got a different NORAD ID (44339) so the N2YO tracking URL is now:
The above may be useful to track the satellite and know when to attempt receiving its signals, other than that, the mission is proceeding well and the “mission dashboard” is now active:
http://www.planetary.org/explore/projects/lightsail-solar-sailing/lightsail-mission-control.html
The only missing bit for hams willing to track the satellite status is a piece of software to decode the telemetry data, whose format is publicly available:
https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/projects/lightsail/manuals/ls2-beacon-info-v01.txt
Also, given that, once the satellite will deploy the solar sail, its orbit will change, I think that it would be a good idea attempting to receive it now, since later on, it may become more difficult.
Thank you sharing these tips, Grayhat. I will attempt to receive the CW signal from Lightsail 2. I do miss one crucial element: the 70cm yagi. I’m willing to bet I know a local radio friend that has one, though!
If you successfully receive the CW ID or telemetry data from Lightsail 2, please comment and share your results here. A video or audio recording would be wonderful!