Minotaur IV : STP-S29A - 2026-04-07 11:30 UTC

fredy · April 5, 2026, 7:40am

Last Update: 2026-04-14 15:00 UTC:

Temporary NORAD ID	Satellite	Frequency	Callsign	Notes	Deployment
UHF
98336	ASTRA-HyRAX	401.475 MHz	GFSK9k6	-	Directly
98337	Unknown 1 - MinoTaur IV	401.500 MHz	FM	-	Directly
98331	Unknown 2 - MinoTaur IV	401.500 MHz	FM	-	Directly
AMATEUR UHF
98338	CANVAS	437.250 MHz	GMSK 9600.0	IARU Coordinated	Directly
S-Band
98338	CANVAS	2405.300 MHz	OQPSK 5000000.0	IARU Coordinated	Directly
NOT IN DB
-	STPSat-7	-	-	-	Directly
-	Rawhide	-	-	-	Directly
-	MISR-C	-	-	-	Directly
-	AggieSat6	-	-	Will use Iridium	Directly

There are a couple of satellites in this launch that will be added in DB today and tomorrow. I’ll update this post accordingly.

Source: Minotaur IV : STP-S29A : VSFB SLC-8 : 7 April 2026 (11:33 UTC)
Source: https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/Article-Display/Article/4453711/us-space-force-launches-dow-stp-s29a-mission-delivers-experimental-and-research

fredy · April 7, 2026, 11:22am

Generated TLE, not very accurate as we miss details about the launch:

CANVAS
1 98338U          26097.48125000  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    07
2 98338  60.0000  92.1380 0014539   0.0000 138.6430 15.21937999    04
MAMBO
1 98337U          26097.48125000  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    06
2 98337  60.0000  92.1380 0014539   0.0000 138.6430 15.21937999    03
ASTRA-HyRAX
1 98336U          26097.48125000  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    05
2 98336  60.0000  92.1380 0014539   0.0000 138.6430 15.21937999    02
MOCI
1 98335U          26097.48125000  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    04
2 98335  60.0000  92.1380 0014539   0.0000 138.6430 15.21937999    01
USNA-16
1 98334U          26097.48125000  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    03
2 98334  60.0000  92.1380 0014539   0.0000 138.6430 15.21937999    00
INCA-2
1 98333U          26097.48125000  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    02
2 98333  60.0000  92.1380 0014539   0.0000 138.6430 15.21937999    09

fredy · April 7, 2026, 11:36am

Launch happened on time, afaik I can say from AggieSat Laboratory youtube live stream.

bali · April 7, 2026, 1:03pm

good luck for all the sat team

bali · April 7, 2026, 1:04pm

explode?? (minute 24:22)

update: it work.

congratz bro abryant !

fredy · April 7, 2026, 3:58pm

CANVAS is alive!

Based on its signal here is a first TLE update for all the satellites:

CANVAS
1 98338U          26097.61799416  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    00
2 98338  60.0047  88.7233 0014539   0.0000 160.2480 15.21937999    09
MAMBO
1 98337U          26097.61799416  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    09
2 98337  60.0047  88.7233 0014539   0.0000 160.2480 15.21937999    08
ASTRA-HyRAX
1 98336U          26097.61799416  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    08
2 98336  60.0047  88.7233 0014539   0.0000 160.2480 15.21937999    07
MOCI
1 98335U          26097.61799416  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    07
2 98335  60.0047  88.7233 0014539   0.0000 160.2480 15.21937999    06
USNA-16
1 98334U          26097.61799416  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    06
2 98334  60.0047  88.7233 0014539   0.0000 160.2480 15.21937999    05
INCA-2
1 98333U          26097.61799416  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    05
2 98333  60.0047  88.7233 0014539   0.0000 160.2480 15.21937999    04

Not clear yet but we may have received also MAMBO and INCA-2, let’s keep watching and try to verify it.

Given that the TLE were off, I’m going to re-schedule future observations.

EDIT: The TLE sets still are not very accurate as we still missing information like inclination, however they should be much better than the initial ones

fredy · April 7, 2026, 4:40pm

MAMBO is also alive and received, waiting more observations for find out its modulation type.

yuri_b · April 7, 2026, 5:42pm

2026-04-07 17:34:44.420 UTC: [267 Bytes KISS Frame (without CRC)]
1 > C0 00 86 82 9C AC 82 A6 60 98 82 A6 A0 40 40 E1 03 F0 08 20
21 > CD E6 00 F1 00 00 4D E6 00 05 02 00 02 00 02 00 00 0E 00 00
41 > 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 4D E6 4D E5 00 83 00 00 00 00 00 83
61 > 12 01 00 00 00 01 00 00 18 5C 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
81 > 64 8D 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 0C 4D 98 02 00 00 00 00 00
101 > 08 63 08 5D 07 FE 08 B3 09 1F 00 50 41 90 00 32 54 50 00 46
121 > 2E F0 00 36 0C D8 00 11 4E 00 00 18 54 58 00 4C 41 88 00 0B
141 > 2F 20 02 48 02 57 00 0B 00 63 00 00 54 E8 4E 58 56 28 00 01
161 > 05 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 84 0B 0B 0B 00 00 21 00 00 00 00
181 > 20 D0 14 70 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
201 > 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 A3 00 E1 0F 09 92 08 BA
221 > A5 60 5C 28 E4 78 44 70 59 ED FF FF 14 68 FF ED 4B 41 FF FE
241 > A3 A2 FE 1A F8 BB 01 3C 02 23 FE E2 D8 F4 00 07 00 06 00 20
261 > 12 74 D3 9F 18 0B C0

2026-04-07 17:34:54.410 UTC: [267 Bytes KISS Frame (without CRC)]
1 > C0 00 86 82 9C AC 82 A6 60 98 82 A6 A0 40 40 E1 03 F0 08 20
21 > CD F0 00 F1 00 00 4D F0 00 05 02 00 02 00 02 00 00 0E 00 00
41 > 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 4D F0 4D EF 00 83 00 00 00 00 00 83
61 > 12 01 00 00 00 01 00 00 18 65 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
81 > 64 99 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 00 4D A2 02 00 00 00 00 00
101 > 08 63 08 5D 07 FF 08 B2 09 1E 00 46 41 90 00 2D 54 90 00 31
121 > 2F 10 00 36 0C E0 00 10 4E 08 00 16 54 70 00 3C 41 90 00 0B
141 > 2F 20 02 48 02 58 00 19 00 63 00 00 54 E8 4E 58 56 28 00 01
161 > 05 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 84 0B 0B 0B 00 00 21 00 00 00 00
181 > 20 D0 14 70 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
201 > 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 A3 00 E3 DD 5B 34 06 74
221 > F5 43 5C E4 55 AB 44 E9 15 FE 00 00 0C 4C FF EC F8 39 FF FE
241 > 58 46 FE 02 F8 96 01 36 02 15 FE E9 D8 F4 00 07 00 06 00 20
261 > 12 6C C2 7E 6D 37 C0

2026-04-07 17:35:04.410 UTC: [267 Bytes KISS Frame (without CRC)]
1 > C0 00 86 82 9C AC 82 A6 60 98 82 A6 A0 40 40 E1 03 F0 08 20
21 > CD FA 00 F1 00 00 4D FA 00 05 02 00 02 00 02 00 00 0E 00 00
41 > 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 4D FA 4D F9 00 84 00 00 00 00 00 84
61 > 12 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 18 6F 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
81 > 64 A7 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 0C 4D AC 02 00 00 00 00 00
101 > 08 63 08 5D 07 FF 08 B2 09 1D 00 4B 41 90 00 2F 54 78 00 31
121 > 2F 10 00 36 0C E0 00 11 4E 08 00 17 54 70 00 42 41 90 00 0A
141 > 2F 20 02 49 02 58 00 10 00 63 00 00 54 E8 4E 58 56 28 00 01
161 > 05 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 84 0B 0B 0B 00 04 21 00 00 00 00
181 > 20 D0 14 70 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
201 > 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 A3 00 E6 B6 12 88 04 33
221 > 92 BB 5D 88 26 12 45 52 50 D1 FF FF 70 97 FF ED 20 4D FF FE
241 > 8D 1D FD FD F8 6F 01 1E 02 15 FE E9 D8 F4 00 07 00 06 00 20
261 > 12 78 35 B6 5A 5C C0

2026-04-07 17:35:14.410 UTC: [267 Bytes KISS Frame (without CRC)]
1 > C0 00 86 82 9C AC 82 A6 60 98 82 A6 A0 40 40 E1 03 F0 08 20
21 > CE 04 00 F1 00 00 4E 04 00 05 02 00 02 00 02 00 00 0E 00 00
41 > 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 4E 04 4E 03 00 84 00 00 00 00 00 84
61 > 12 00 00 00 00 01 00 00 18 78 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
81 > 64 B3 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 0C 4D B6 02 00 00 00 00 00
101 > 08 63 08 5D 07 FF 08 B2 09 1E 00 50 41 90 00 32 54 50 00 3B
121 > 2F 00 00 36 0C E0 00 11 4E 00 00 18 54 68 00 4B 41 88 00 0B
141 > 2F 20 02 48 02 58 00 14 00 63 00 00 55 00 4E 68 56 28 00 01
161 > 05 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 84 0B 0B 0B 00 04 21 00 00 00 00
181 > 20 D0 14 70 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
201 > 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 A3 00 E9 8B 79 B6 01 E9
221 > D0 BF 5E 17 47 DA 45 A4 11 91 FF FF D2 BA FF ED 4A 6B FF FE
241 > 72 17 FD F3 F8 5D 01 05 02 23 FE E2 D8 F4 00 0E 00 06 00 20
261 > 12 74 D8 53 D1 56 C0

CANVAS now. Very strong signal

fredy · April 7, 2026, 6:31pm

From the pass over Europe, only CANVAS and MAMBO where received.

dl7ndr · April 7, 2026, 6:49pm

MOCI is on 437.350 MHz, not .500.

fredy · April 7, 2026, 7:05pm

Thanks, after your suggestion is fixed in DB. From @PE0SAT’s strf observation unfortunately no signal on that frequency.

TLE update for CANVAS and MAMBO:

CANVAS
1 98338U          26097.72982177  .00000000  00000-0  29969-3 0    09
2 98338  59.9801  88.1743 0014539   0.0000  54.0856 15.24231788    07
MAMBO
1 98337U          26097.74485178  .00000000  00000-0  72068-2 0    06
2 98337  59.6529  88.6594 0014539   0.0000 136.0730 15.22670241    00

Based on the above TLE update for the rest:

ASTRA-HyRAX
1 98336U          26097.74485178  .00000000  00000-0  72068-2 0    05
2 98336  59.6529  88.6594 0014539   0.0000 136.0730 15.22670241    09
MOCI
1 98335U          26097.74485178  .00000000  00000-0  72068-2 0    04
2 98335  59.6529  88.6594 0014539   0.0000 136.0730 15.22670241    08
USNA-16
1 98334U          26097.74485178  .00000000  00000-0  72068-2 0    03
2 98334  59.6529  88.6594 0014539   0.0000 136.0730 15.22670241    07
INCA-2
1 98333U          26097.74485178  .00000000  00000-0  72068-2 0    02
2 98333  59.6529  88.6594 0014539   0.0000 136.0730 15.22670241    06

dl7ndr · April 7, 2026, 7:12pm

2026-04-07 19:0x UTC almost zenith pass.
Uploaded 28 packets from CANVAS.
No signals seen from INCA-2, MOCI and USNA-16.

U frame UI: p/f=0, No layer 3 protocol implemented., length = 264
 dest    CANVAS  0 c/r=0 res=3 last=0
 source  LASP    0 c/r=1 res=3 last=1
  000:  86 82 9c ac 82 a6 60 98 82 a6 a0 40 40 e1 03 f0  ......`....@@...
  010:  08 20 e2 be 00 f1 00 00 62 be 00 05 02 00 02 00  . ......b.......
  020:  02 00 00 0e 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 62 be  ..............b.
  030:  62 bd 00 b2 00 00 00 00 00 b2 06 01 00 00 00 01  b...............
  040:  00 00 1f cf 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 7f 86  ................
  050:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 0c 62 70 02 00 00 00  ..........bp....
  060:  00 00 08 62 08 5c 07 fc 08 b6 09 20 00 47 41 90  ...b.\..... .GA.
  070:  00 2d 54 50 00 2e 2f 10 00 36 0c e0 00 10 4d e8  .-TP../..6....M.
  080:  00 16 54 38 00 3a 41 90 00 0b 2f 20 02 41 02 51  ..T8.:A.../ .A.Q
  090:  00 21 00 62 00 00 54 c0 4e 40 55 d8 00 01 06 00  .!.b..T.N@U.....
  0a0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 84 0b 0b 0b 00 00 21 00 00  .............!..
  0b0:  00 00 20 60 14 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  .. `............
  0c0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0d0:  00 02 a3 00 a7 42 f0 9e 3f 07 b5 34 26 a6 e1 ad  .....B..?..4&...
  0e0:  1d 7d 0a 48 ff ff 8c 44 ff ed 16 2c ff fe 23 b0  .}.H...D...,..#.
  0f0:  00 5e fe 53 01 6f 02 5a fe c5 d8 f5 00 07 00 06  .^.S.o.Z........
  100:  00 1f 12 28 5c 13 ab 98                          ...(\...
------

In 10 seconds intervals.

fredy · April 7, 2026, 7:31pm

TLE update by @PE0SAT based on the recent pass over Europe:

CANVAS
1 98338U          26097.61799416  .00000000  00000-0  50000-4 0    00
2 98338  60.0047  88.8632 0014539   0.0000 160.4249 15.23690195    04

eam0052 · April 7, 2026, 7:42pm

MAMBO did not launch. This is the ASTRA-HyRAX Team. We think that the recordings received under MAMBO are actually ASTRA-HyRAX. We are working to figure out how to upload the format to decode the data. Any guidance there would be helpful.

fredy · April 7, 2026, 7:50pm

@eam0052 Thanks for this update the entry for the satellite can be updated in SatNOGS DB - ASTRA-HyRAX by following the related guides [1][2].

The basic we will need are:

To confirm ASTRA-HyRAX frequency, from https://apps.fcc.gov/els/GetAtt.html?id=396352&x=. it seems to be 401.475 MHz but in observations the signal seems to be at 401.500 MHz. Which one is right?
The modulation and framing of the transmission
The baudrate/symbolrate of it

eam0052 · April 7, 2026, 8:08pm

@fredy Our center frequency is supposed to be 401.475 MHz GSFK 9600. It should currently be transmitting a beacon at 80 second intervals

eam0052 · April 7, 2026, 8:09pm

@fredy How do we set up the automatic data decoding?

fredy · April 7, 2026, 8:16pm

As far as I can say the signal we see in the Mambo observations is not GSFK 9600 and it is definitely centered at 401.500MHz. If Mambo isn’t in this launch then it should be another satellite from this launch.

This is done automatically by the station when the necessary parameters are set in DB entry. In your case these parameters are set right, so as soon as we get some signals from the satellite there will be decoded data with a disclaimer that the radio software on the stations can decode these transmissions.

Correct me if I’m wrong, I think ASTRA-HyRAX uses an endurosat comms subsystem, from other missions using the same subsystem, stations are able to decode the transmissions.

eam0052 · April 7, 2026, 8:19pm

We are using endurosat but we are using a custom data encoding scheme. It is not the standard endurosat encoding.

fredy · April 7, 2026, 8:20pm

I see, let’s first get some signal and then let’s check if and how we can start decoding them. Thanks again fo the info!