iss

ISS Cross Band FM Repeater Activated

Posted on by VA3DBJ

At 01:02 GMT on September 2 a cross band FM amateur radio repeater with a downlink on 437.800 MHz was activated on the International Space Station.

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) announcement reads:

The ARISS team is pleased to announce that set up and installation of the first element of our next generation radio system was completed and amateur radio operations with it are now underway. This first element, dubbed the InterOperable Radio System (IORS), was installed in the International Space Station Columbus module. The IORS replaces the Ericsson radio system and packet module that were originally certified for spaceflight on July 26, 2000.

Initial operation of the new radio system is in FM cross band repeater mode using an uplink frequency of 145.990 MHz with an access tone [CTCSS] of 67 Hz and a downlink frequency of 437.800 MHz. System activation was first observed at 01:02 UTC on September 2. Special operations will continue to be announced.

The IORS was launched from Kennedy Space Center on March 6, 2020 on board the SpaceX CRS-20 resupply mission. It consists of a special, space-modified JVC Kenwood D710GA transceiver, an ARISS developed multi-voltage power supply and interconnecting cables. The design, development, fabrication, testing, and launch of the first IORS was an incredible five-year engineering achievement accomplished by the ARISS hardware volunteer team. It will enable new, exciting capabilities for ham radio operators, students, and the general public. Capabilities include a higher power radio, voice repeater, digital packet radio (APRS) capabilities and a Kenwood VC-H1 slow scan television (SSTV) system.

A second IORS undergoes flight certification and will be launched later for installation in the Russian Service module. This second system enables dual, simultaneous operations, (e.g. voice repeater and APRS packet), providing diverse opportunities for radio amateurs. It also provides on-orbit redundancy to ensure continuous operations in the event of an IORS component failure.

Next-gen development efforts continue. For the IORS, parts are being procured and a total of ten systems are being fabricated to support flight, additional flight spares, ground testing and astronaut training. Follow-on next generation radio system elements include an L-band repeater uplink capability, currently in development, and a flight Raspberry-Pi, dubbed “ARISS-Pi,” that is just beginning the design phase. The ARISS-Pi promises operations autonomy and enhanced SSTV operations.

ARISS is run almost entirely by volunteers, and with the help of generous contributions from ARISS sponsors and individuals. Donations to the ARISS program for next generation hardware developments, operations, education, and administration are welcome — please go to https://www.ariss.org/donate.html to contribute to these efforts.

ARISS–Celebrating 20 years of continuous amateur radio operations on the ISS!

ARISS-USA is Created From ARISS International

Posted on by VA3DBJ

In late May, the USA team of the ARISS International working group became an incorporated non-profit entity in the state of Maryland, officially becoming ARISS-USA. This move allows ARISS-USA to work as an independent organization, soliciting grants and donations. They will continue promoting amateur radio and STEAM—science, technology, engineering, arts, and math within educational organizations and inspire, engage and educate our next generation of space enthusiasts. 
 
ARISS-USA will maintain its collaborative work with ARISS International as well as with US sponsors, partners, and interest groups. The main goal of ARISS-USA remains as connecting educational groups with opportunities to interact with astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). ARISS-USA will expand its human spaceflight opportunities with the space agencies, beyond low Earth orbit, starting with lunar opportunities including the Lunar Gateway. ARISS-USA will continue to review and accept proposals for ISS contacts and expand its other educational opportunities to increase interest in space sciences and radio communications.
 
Becoming an independent organization has been discussed for quite some time. ARISS-USA lead Frank Bauer, KA3HDO said “The scope and reach of what ARISS accomplishes each year has grown significantly since its humble beginnings in 1996. Our working group status made it cumbersome to establish partnerships, sign agreements and solicit grants. These can only be done as an established organization.”  Bauer further elaborated, “The ARISS-USA team remains deeply indebted to our working group partners—ARRL and AMSAT, who enabled the birth of ARISS—and our steadfast sponsors, NASA Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab (INL).” ARISS-USA aims to keep earning high regards from all these partners and sponsors.    
 
While ARISS-USA is now an incorporated non-profit entity, we are in the process of applying for tax exemption as a Section 501 (c) (3) charitable, scientific or educational organization. Until that status is approved by the USA Internal Revenue Service, donations made directly to ARISS-USA will not be tax deductible for taxpayers in the USA. Those wanting to make a tax deductible donation for the benefit of ARISS-USA can, in the meantime, continue to make donations to ARISS sponsor AMSAT-NA through the ARISS website at: www.ariss.org.
 
As ARISS-USA begins a new era as a human spaceflight amateur radio organization, it acknowledges those who were so instrumental in the formation of human spaceflight amateur radio. These include Vic Clark, W4KFC and Dave Sumner, K1ZZ from the ARRL; Bill Tynan, W3XO and Tom Clark, W3IO from AMSAT; Roy Neal, K6DUE a major guide for SAREX and ARISS; and NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL.  Also remembered is Pam Mountjoy, NASA education, who had the vision to develop the ARISS working group as a single amateur radio focus into the space agencies. All of these giants’ shoulders are what ARISS-USA rests upon.

Space Pioneer Astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL, SK

Posted on by VA3DBJ

ARRL reports the US astronaut who pioneered the use of Amateur Radio to make contacts from space — Owen K. Garriott, W5LFL — died April 15 at his home in Huntsville, Alabama. He was 88.

Garriott’s ham radio activity ushered in the formal establishment of Amateur Radio in space, first as SAREX — the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, and later as ARISS — Amateur Radio on the International Space Station.

“Owen Garriott was a good friend and an incredible astronaut,” fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin tweeted. “I have a great sadness as I learn of his passing today. Godspeed Owen.”

An Oklahoma native, Garriott — an electrical engineer — spent 2 months aboard the Skylab space station in 1973 and 10 days aboard Spacelab-1 during a 1983 Space Shuttle Columbia mission. It was during the latter mission that Garriott thrilled radio amateurs around the world by making the first contacts from space.

Thousands of hams listened on 2-meter FM, hoping to hear him or to make a contact. Garriott ended up working stations around the globe, among them such notables as the late King Hussein, JY1, of Jordan, and the late US Senator Barry Goldwater, K7UGA. He also made the first CW contact from space. Garriott called hamming from space “a pleasant pastime.”

“I managed to do it in my off-duty hours, and it was a pleasure to get involved in it and to talk with people who are as interested in space as the 100,000 hams on the ground seemed to be,” he said in an interview published in the February 1984 edition of QST. “So, it was just a pleasant experience, the hamming in particular, all the way around.”

Although Garriott had planned to operate on ham radio during his 10 days in space, no special provisions were made on board the spacecraft in terms of equipment — unlike the situation today on the International Space Station. Garriott simply used a hand-held transceiver with its antenna in the window of Spacelab-1. His first pass was down the US West Coast.

“[A]s I approached the US, I began to hear stations that were trying to reach me,” he told QST. “On my very first CQ, there were plenty of stations responding.” His first contact was with Lance Collister, WA1JXN, in Montana.

ARISS ARRL Representative Rosalie White, K1STO, met Garriott when he attended Hamvention, “both times, sitting next to him at Hamvention dinner banquets,” she recounted. “Once when he was a Special Achievement Award winner, and once with him and [his son] Richard when Richard won the 2009 Special Achievement Award. Owen was unassuming, very smart, kind, and up to date on the latest technology.” Garriott shared a Hamvention Special Achievement Award in 2002 with fellow Amateur Radio astronaut Tony England, W0ORE.

Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, was a private space traveler to the ISS, flown there by the Russian Federal Space Agency, and he also carried ham radio into space.

ISS Fan Club Closing Down

Posted on by VA3DBJ

ISS Fan Club closing down on January 1st 2019

After almost 17 years of service to the amateur radio community, the issfanclub.com site will shut down on January 1st 2019.

The ISS fan club website has been an excellent source of information for tracking the ISS and crew activity. The website has also provided frequencies, assistance to users with ISS digipeating, a place to showcase ISS SSTV images and meet fellow ISS fans.

https://issfanclub.com/

73 – KB9STR

http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2018/december/issfanclub-closing-down.htm

Astronaut, Cosmonaut Safe in Wake of Soyuz Launch Failure

Posted on by VA3DBJ

ARRL – A Russian Soyuz spacecraft crew launch to the International Space Station (ISS) suffered an emergency booster failure shortly after lift-off from Kazakhstan on October 11, but the crew is safe. On board the Soyuz MS-10 were US Astronaut Nick Hague, KG5TMV, and Russian Cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine was in attendance at the launch in order to discuss with Russian space agency Roscosmos a mysterious hole that had apparently been drilled through the side of the last Soyuz vehicle. That spacecraft had successfully carried cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev, and astronauts Serena Auñón-Chancellor, KG5TMT, and Alexander Gerst, KF5ONO, to the ISS last spring. In a statement, Bridenstine promised “a thorough investigation” into the cause of the October 11 aborted launch.

“Shortly after launch, there was an anomaly with the booster and the launch ascent was aborted, resulting in a ballistic landing of the spacecraft,” Bridenstine said. “Search and Rescue teams were deployed to the landing site. Hague and Ovchinin are out of the capsule and are reported to be in good condition.” The pair was returned to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan en route to Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City. This was Hague’s first launch and Ovchinin’s second.

Bridenstine and the NASA team are monitoring the situation carefully, the space agency said, adding that NASA is working closely with Roscosmos.

Early this month, NASA issued a statement regarding the late-August discovery of a mysterious 2-millimetre hole in the wall of the Soyuz capsule that is now docked to the ISS. The resulting air pressure leak has since been repaired. There is no indication the launch failure and the mystery hole in the last Soyuz launched are connected.

Roscosmos said the hole was not drilled by accident, opening the possibility of sabotage. Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin earlier ruled out a manufacturing defect.

“[This] indicates that this is an isolated issue which does not categorically affect future production,” the NASA statement said. “This conclusion does not necessarily mean the hole was created intentionally or with mal-intent.”

Roscosmos has claimed the hole may have been drilled by a technician on the ground. NASA and Roscosmos continue to investigate the incident to determine the cause. A November spacewalk was planned in order to gather more information.

In the wake of the Soyuz failure, operations to transport ISS crew members have been suspended. The current ISS crew of Auñón-Chancellor, Gerst, and Prokopyev is scheduled to return to Earth in December.

For the original news item please visit:
http://www.arrl.org/news/us-ham-astronaut-russian-cosmonaut-safe-in-wake-of-soyuz-launch-failure

ISS Air Leak Fixed

Posted on by VA3DBJ

The International Space Station’s (ISS) oxygen breach was contained by NASA and Roscosmos astronauts after the space station began losing air pressure yesterday. The ISS’ cabin pressure is now “holding steady” after ISS Expedition 56 crew members hunted down a breach in the spacecraft’s hull. Alarm bells went off in Houston, Texas, and outside of Moscow on Wednesday, August 29, alerting flight control crews of a pressure drop.

But the six ISS astronauts aboard the ISS were not warned of the space station losing oxygen until the following morning. Both NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) argued the breach was not dangerous enough to wake the astronauts from their slumber.

NASA said the ISS still had enough oxygen to last the crew for weeks but if the breach had not been sealed, it would have drained the ISS of air in just 18 days. The space agency has now confirmed the breach only caused “a minor reduction of station pressure”.

Yesterday the six astronauts carried out a search in one of the two Russian Soyuz spacecraft modules docked to the orbital laboratory. A minute breach about 2mm in size, smaller than the fingernail on a little finger, was detected in in the upper section of a Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft.

During a live feed broadcast from the ISS a crew controller on Earth was heard saying German astronaut Alexander Gerst had plugged the hole with his finger. The voice said: “Right now Alex has got his finger on that hole and I don’t think that’s the best remedy for it.”

The breach has since been sealed by Roscosmos astronaut Sergey Prokopyev. The Russian astronaut stopped the oxygen leak with a bit of epoxy and cotton gauze after it was first taped over with heat resistant tape.

Flight controllers are now looking into a more permanent patch.

Right now Alex has got his finger on that hole and I don’t think that’s the best remedy for it

NASA Flight Control

Last night NASA said in a statement: “After a morning of investigations, the crew reported that the leak was isolated to a hole about two milimeters in diameter in the orbital compartment, or upper section, of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft attached to the Rassvet module of the Russian segment of the station.

“Flight controllers at their respective Mission Control centers in Houston and Moscow worked together with the crew to effect a repair option in which Soyuz commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos used epoxy on a gauze wipe to plug the hole identified as the leak source.

“As the teams were discussing options, flight controllers in Moscow performed a partial increase of the station’s atmosphere using the ISS Progress 70 cargo ship’s oxygen supply.”

Mission flight control officials are now closely monitoring the space station’s system for additional warning signs.

Russia’s space agency will carry out additional analysis for other leaks.  NASA stressed none of the six astronauts were in any real danger fro the leak.

The space agency told its astronauts “no further action was contemplated for the remainder of the day”.

NASA said: “Flight controllers will monitor pressure trends overnight. “All station systems are stable and the crew is planning to return to its regular schedule of work on Friday.”

 

ARISS Packet System Revives

Posted on by VA3DBJ
An Amazing Recovery: ARISS Packet System Revives

ARRL – Similar to the AO-7 satellite resurrection several years ago, the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) packet radio system on the International Space Station (ISS) has begun working again. NASA ISS Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, said over the weekend that reports he’d received indicated that the NA1SS packet signal returned in mid-August.

“It appears it indeed has started working as of about 11 days ago,” Ransom said. “No idea how long it will last, given the degrading state of the current hardware. The longer it lasts, the better.” Ransom said the revived system will fill the gap until a replacement packet module goes up later this year on a Progress supply vehicle and is installed by the crew on a time-available basis. Satellite enthusiast Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, in Arizona reported via the ISS Fan Club site that the ISS packet system was operating on August 25 at 1915 UTC during an 8° pass over the continental US. “I got my position packet through once, no QSOs this pass,” he said in a post.

The packet signal on 145.825 MHz has been copied in Europe, South America, India, and elsewhere. In another August 25 post, Mark Pisani, KK6OTJ, reported copying the packet system during an 18° pass over southern California and said he worked KB6LTY through the system. “Heard over Patagonia Argentina!” Francisco Rodriguez, LU2WBA, enthused in a post on August 24 at 2323 UTC. “Welcome back!” An August 17 post from Marco Antonio, PU2MUS, in Brazil indicated that the system was not active at that time.

Earlier this summer, ARISS hardware team members on the ground reported that they were able to locate a functional duplicate of the ISS packet module that had been in use on the ISS for 17 years before it failed more than a year ago. The packet module has been manifest on the Progress 71P spacecraft launch now set for October 31, with docking on November 2.

ARISS said the subsequent installation will depend on the crew’s busy schedule, but expressed hope that the new packet system hardware could be online again by the end of November.

ARISS Packet Radio System Expected to be Back Late this Year

Posted on by VA3DBJ

ARRL – The currently silent packet radio system on the International Space Station could be back on the air by year’s end.

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) hardware team members have located an original duplicate of the packet module that had been in use on the International Space Station (ISS) before failing more than a year ago after 17 years of service. With a new battery installed, the unit was tested and found to be functioning. The ARISS packet system in the space station’s Columbus module, operating on 145.825 MHz, quit last July after first experiencing some problems. All necessary paperwork has been completed to manifest the packet module on the Progress 71P spacecraft launch now set for Halloween, with docking on November 2.

“Installation date will depend on the crew’s busy schedule, but ARISS hopes packet can be online again by the end of November 2018,” ARISS said this week in a news release. ARISS said it’s heard from “many hams” who have been asking when the packet system will be back on the air.

When the ARISS packet module aboard ISS died in last year, the ARISS hardware team already was overburdened with the design and safety certification of the new interoperable radio system ARISS has been developing that’s set for launch next year. The team did attempt some basic troubleshooting of the old packet module but was unable to revive it and decided instead to dedicate all of its time to the new replacement radio system, including packet capability.

ARISS Packet Radio System Expected to be Back Late this Year

Early this year, thermal testing of the first flight-identical power supply for the new comprehensive radio system showed that some changes to air flow were needed. This change would delay launch of the new radio equipment from late 2018 to early 2019.

ARISS Donate
VA3DBJ.ca – ISS page

Slow-Scan TV Transmissions from ISS

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Slow-Scan TV Transmissions from International Space Station: July 30-31

RAC/ARISS – ARISS Russia is planning another of their popular MAI Slow Scan Television (SSTV) experiment events. Transmissions are scheduled to begin at 16:00 UTC on July 30, then powered down at 19:30 UTC. The next day (July 31), the system will be active from 13:25-19:15 UTC. Downlink should be on the traditional 145.80 MHz frequency and the operating mode will likely be PD120.

When this event becomes active, SSTV images are downlinked from the International Space Station (ISS) at the frequency of 145.80 MHz and can be received using Amateur Radio equipment as simple as a 2 metre handheld radio or a common scanner receiver the covers the 2 metre Amateur band. After connecting the audio output of the radio receiver into the audio input of a computer running free software such as MMSSTV, the SSTV images can be displayed.

Please note that the event is dependent on other activities, schedules and crew responsibilities on the ISS and are subject to change at any time.

Please check for news and the most current information on the AMSAT.org (https://www.amsat.org/) and ARISS.org (http://www.ariss.org/) websites, the [email protected], the ARISS facebook at Amateur Radio On 
The International Space Station (ARISS) and ARISS twitter @ARISS_status.

For more information contact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN
ARISS PR
[email protected]

Background information:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States and other international space agencies and international Amateur Radio organizations around the world.

The primary purpose of ARISS is to organize scheduled contacts via Amateur Radio between crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced volunteers from Amateur Radio clubs and coordination from the ARISS team, the ISS crew members speak directly with large group audiences in a variety of public forums such as school assemblies, science centers and museums, Scout camporees, jamborees and space camps, where students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies and Amateur Radio.

ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, the Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA and CSA, with the AMSAT and International Amateur Radio Union organizations from participating countries.

ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crew members onboard the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, firsthand, how Amateur Radio and crew members on the International Space Station can energize youth and instill an interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available on their website.

Receive SSTV from Space June 29-July 1

Posted on by VA3DBJ

RAC – ARISS Russia is planning a special Slow Scan Television (SSTV) event from the International Space Station Station around 09:00 GMT on Friday, June 29 and continuing until 18:30 GMT Sunday, July 1.

Supporting this event is a computer on the ISS Russian Segment, which stores images that are then transmitted to Earth using Amateur Radio, specifically the onboard Kenwood TM-D710E transceiver.

These images will commemorate the various satellites that were hand-deployed from the ISS. These will include the first satellite deployment from ISS: Suitsat-1/Radioskaf-1 which was developed by ARISS and deployed in February 2006.

The transmissions will be made on 145.800 MHz FM using the PD-120 SSTV mode.

Note the ISS transmissions use the 5 kHz deviation FM standard rather than the narrow 2.5 kHz used in Europe. If your transceiver has selectable FM filters try using the wider filter. Handheld transceivers generally have a single wide filter fitted as standard and you should get good results outdoors using just a 1/4-wave whip antenna.

The ISS Fan Club site will show you when the space station is in range: http://www.issfanclub.com/

ISS SSTV information and links at https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/iss-sstv/

Post your images on the ARISS-SSTV gallery at http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/

For more information visit: https://amsat-uk.org/2018/06/27/receive-sstv-from-space/