The launch date for SSETI-ESEO, the ESA led student satellite project intended for Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), has been delayed by approximately one year. It had originally been hoped that this satellite would be a secondary payload on Arianespace launch from Kourou in late Nov 2008 but it now seems that the expected secondary payload opportunity will not be available.

Some eleven months ago we were able to announce that the planned SSETI ESEO GTO satellite would include a linear transponder which would be developed by a team from AMSAT-UK.

Since then we have been very busy developing all the various parts of the satellite sub-system and apologise for not having provided many updates on the progress made.

This report will hopefully help to correct this omission!

AMSAT-UK is delighted to be able to announce its participation in the SSETI ESEO satellite project.

ESEO - The European Student Earth Orbiter is a satellite planned for launch in late 2008 into a Geo-stationary transfer orbit similar to the initial orbit of AO40 and to those planned for Eagle and P3E.

As has been already reported, SSETI Express XO-53 and eight other payloads successfully lifted off from Plesetsk in Northern Russia at 06:26 UTC on October 27th.

The satellite was designed to wait for some time after separation from the launch adaptor before activating any electrical circuits and exactly at the appointed moment, 08:33 UTC, UHF signals were heard at the ground station at Aalborg in Denmark, by a number of other amateurs in Europe and also by the launch team in Plesetsk (with a THF7 and a handheld Arrow antenna!)

The following picture has just been received from Graham Shirville, G3VZV.

From Graham Shirville, G3VZV in Plesetsk - 1000 UTC 24 Oct 2005:-

SSETI Express has now been successfully integrated onto the Kosmos launch adaptor which it shares with four other satellites. This is almost the final operation that needs to take place before the whole assembly is attached to the top of the launch vehicle. The S-Band "arming" plug has been installed so everything is set for eventual U/S transponder operation. The remaining protection panels will then be removed and all will be ready for Thursday's launch