We are a group of radio amateurs, students, scientists, and engineers that have designed, built, and tested a New Zealand satellite intended for low Earth orbit. At the AMSAT-ZL Annual General Meeting in June, 2023 the group officially decided to dissolve and abandon plans for a luanch campaign.
Documentation for much of the work done over the years has been published in the hope it may benefit future satellite efforts. Read more...
KiwiSAT was to have carried an amateur radio linear transponder with inputs on 430 and 1260 MHz and output and beacon on 145 MHz. It also had a camera and digital file transfer capability.
KiwiSAT included two science experiments: an Ionospheric Research Project that would have allowed characterization of the ionosphere to improve the accuracy of Earth observations related to climate change and an Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem to refine the state of the art in small satellite control.
The design, fabrication, and eventual operation of the satellite involves a wide variety of engineering disciplines from battery technology to space frame construction to ground station capability.
AMSAT-ZL is indebted to the various NZART Branches, the many individual ZL amateurs, and the amateur radio community around the world, who have contributed magnanimously to help finance this pioneering project. More ...
KiwiSAT is an orbiting satellite project by radio amateurs under a strict "not-for-profit" regime and should not be confused with KiwiSat, a commercial ground based animal tracking transmitter. As prime owners of the name KiwiSAT, AMSAT-ZL permit its use in the lower case format (KiwiSat 101) by Lotek for their earth bound animal tracking transmitter unit.