IO-117
GREENCUBE · amateur radio satellite, NORAD 53109
Not heard todayIO-117 frequencies
| Uplink | Downlink | Beacon | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 435.310 MHz | 435.310 MHz | — | FSK AX.100 Mode 5 1k2 |
| — | 435.310 MHz | — | FSK AX.100 Mode 5 1k2 |
| — | 435.310 MHz | — | FSK AX.100 Mode 5 300 bd |
Nominal frequencies, without Doppler. The live map shifts them for your station during a pass. Frequencies: SatNOGS DB (modified: working amateur transmitters only, in MHz), CC BY-SA 4.0.
About IO-117
IO-117, also known as GreenCube, is a 3U CubeSat built by the S5Lab team of Sapienza University of Rome with ENEA and the University of Naples Federico II, and launched on 13 July 2022 on the first flight of the Vega-C rocket. Its main mission was a biology experiment growing plants in orbit; the amateur payload is a digital digipeater with real-time and store-and-forward modes.
GreenCube is in a medium Earth orbit of about 5,850 km, much higher than most amateur satellites. Passes last more than an hour and the footprint covers whole continents, so operators make digital contacts over many thousands of kilometres.
The digipeater works on one channel, 435.310 MHz, for both uplink and downlink. Doppler shifts your transmit and receive frequencies in opposite directions, so you need a 70 cm radio that can operate split with Doppler correction, a directional antenna, and software that supports the GreenCube digipeater protocol.
After the science mission ended, the digipeater was switched off in February 2024; AMSAT Italia then became co-owner of the satellite to keep it available for radio amateurs. Check current reports before planning a contact.
Status
Listed as working, but nobody reported hearing IO-117 on AMSAT in the last 30 days.
From reports filed on AMSAT, last 30 days.
Orbit
| Type | Medium Earth orbit |
|---|---|
| Altitude | 5833–5854 km |
| Inclination | 70.1° |
| Period | 224.1 min |
| TLE epoch | 2026-10-28 06:04 UTC |
Orbital elements: CelesTrak, checked every 3 hours.
Questions about IO-117
- What is the IO-117 uplink frequency?
- IO-117 listens on 435.310 MHz (FSK AX.100 Mode 5 1k2).
- What is the IO-117 downlink frequency?
- IO-117 transmits on 435.310 MHz (FSK AX.100 Mode 5 1k2), 435.310 MHz (FSK AX.100 Mode 5 1k2) and 435.310 MHz (FSK AX.100 Mode 5 300 bd).
- Is IO-117 active?
- Listed as working, but nobody reported hearing IO-117 on AMSAT in the last 30 days.
- When does IO-117 pass over my location?
- Open IO-117 on the live map and enter your Maidenhead locator or use GPS: the tracker lists the passes of the next 24 hours with AOS, maximum elevation and LOS, and shifts the frequencies for Doppler.