Nanosatellites and Projects in the Republic of Croatia
Nanosatellites are a category of satellites with smaller dimensions and mass, originally developed and promoted through the CubeSat category. The CubeSat category is based on a standardized form consisting of a cube measuring 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm, which constitutes one unit, or “1U” (a volume of 1 litre with a mass of approximately 1 to 1.2 kg). The smallest existing CubeSat size is 0.25U, and the largest is 27U. CubeSats often use commercially available standardized components for their electronics and structure. The primary purpose of the CubeSat standard was to enable cost-effective space missions for scientific, research, and educational purposes. Nanosatellites are deployed in LEO orbits, typically have a lifespan of one to three years, and at the end of their mission, they burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
CroCube
CroCube is the first Croatian satellite in space. It belongs to the 1U CubeSat category and operates on frequencies allocated for the amateur satellite service (uplink: 145.975 MHz; downlink: 436.775 MHz). CroCube was successfully launched on 21 December 2024 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in the United States as part of SpaceX’s Bandwagon-2 mission and was placed in a LEO orbit at an altitude of 510 km..
HAKOM carried out the procedure for registering the use of CroCube’s satellite network frequencies with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) through ITU’s electronic system for satellite network filings. Since CroCube operates on frequencies designated for the amateur satellite service, the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) previously handled the selection of operating frequencies and international coordination.
Figure 4. ITU registration of the CroCube satellite network
Tabular Representation of the CroCube Satellite Network Registration in the ITU Database. The table contains information on publications in the BR IFIC (BR International Frequency Information Circular) space.
HAKOM issued a licence to the EVO Association for the use of the radio frequency spectrum in the amateur service, enabling the use of the assigned frequencies for communication with the CroCube satellite in LEO orbit as part of the amateur satellite service.
More information on CroCube: https://crocube.hr/
Telemetry data from the CroCube satellite are available via the global SATNOGS network: CroCube - Grafana
Additional information and the current position of the CroCube satellite can be found at: SatNOGS DB - CroCube
FERSAT
At the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) in Zagreb, within the Department of Communications and Space Technologies, projects in the field of space technologies have been launched in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission.
More information: https://www.fer.unizg.hr/zkist/FERSAT
PERUN
The Adriatic Aerospace Association (A3) is an association of research institutions and high-tech companies that has initiated a project to develop a Croatian CubeSat satellite of the 1U category called Perun. The project envisions the development of a satellite programme for Earth observation (Croatia and the surrounding region), with potential expansion to scientific experiments and testing of new technologies.
More information: https://a3space.org/
CroCube
CroCube is the first Croatian satellite in space. It belongs to the 1U CubeSat category and operates on frequencies allocated for the amateur satellite service (uplink: 145.975 MHz; downlink: 436.775 MHz). CroCube was successfully launched on 21 December 2024 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in the United States as part of SpaceX’s Bandwagon-2 mission and was placed in a LEO orbit at an altitude of 510 km..
HAKOM carried out the procedure for registering the use of CroCube’s satellite network frequencies with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) through ITU’s electronic system for satellite network filings. Since CroCube operates on frequencies designated for the amateur satellite service, the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) previously handled the selection of operating frequencies and international coordination.
Figure 4. ITU registration of the CroCube satellite network
Tabular Representation of the CroCube Satellite Network Registration in the ITU Database. The table contains information on publications in the BR IFIC (BR International Frequency Information Circular) space.
HAKOM issued a licence to the EVO Association for the use of the radio frequency spectrum in the amateur service, enabling the use of the assigned frequencies for communication with the CroCube satellite in LEO orbit as part of the amateur satellite service.
More information on CroCube: https://crocube.hr/
Telemetry data from the CroCube satellite are available via the global SATNOGS network: CroCube - Grafana
Additional information and the current position of the CroCube satellite can be found at: SatNOGS DB - CroCube
FERSAT
At the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) in Zagreb, within the Department of Communications and Space Technologies, projects in the field of space technologies have been launched in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission.
More information: https://www.fer.unizg.hr/zkist/FERSAT
PERUN
The Adriatic Aerospace Association (A3) is an association of research institutions and high-tech companies that has initiated a project to develop a Croatian CubeSat satellite of the 1U category called Perun. The project envisions the development of a satellite programme for Earth observation (Croatia and the surrounding region), with potential expansion to scientific experiments and testing of new technologies.
More information: https://a3space.org/