Tag Archives: ISS

Oct 21 2016

ISS Columbus ham radio HT inoperative

International_Space_Station

International Space Station

The Ericsson VHF handheld transceiver in the ISS Columbus module which is used for amateur radio voice contacts on 144.800 MHz and the packet radio digipeater on 145.825 MHz is unusable.

The VHF handheld radio model that has been used by the ARISS program to connect students worldwide with astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) for over 16 years has given an error message and is unusable at this time.

While the ARISS technical team evaluates the best path to restore operation from the Columbus module, ARISS contacts will be supported using the Kenwood radio in the Russian Service Module.  During this period, the packet digipeater will be unavailable.

Switching to the 70 cm radio capability on board the Columbus module for some operations is being coordinated. Expect further updates as we work to resolve this problem.

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
http://ariss.org/
https://twitter.com/ARISS_status
https://twitter.com/RF2Space/
http://issfanclub.com/

Dave Taylor W8AAS has posted the following information on the AMSAT Bulletin Board:

ARISS is actively working on a new Interoperable Radio System for ISS.  The primary components are a modified Kenwood D710GA radio and a custom ARISS-designed power supply.  The radio is complete except for final programming and NASA testing and certification.  The power supply design is in final stages and a hardware prototype has been built.  It will power existing and anticipated ARISS equipment.

The radio by itself is useless without the power supply (the radio needs 13.8 VDC, the ISS provides 120 VDC in the US segment and 28 VDC in the Russian segment).  The power supply will allow ham radio equipment to be used anywhere on ISS.

The goal is to have this new system aboard ISS about 1 year from now.  This assumes that ARISS can raise the remaining funds needed and that no delays occur in NASA testing and certification of the entire system.  The new radio system will give ISS a strong 25-watt signal on voice and packet, and is planned to support a variety of operating modes.

This system was discussed in presentations at last year’s AMSAT Symposium and you can find details in the 2015 Proceedings.  I haven’t seen a schedule, but I expect there will be updates at the Symposium next month.

Sep 10 2016

Inspiring the next STEM generation

Susan Buckle UK Space Agency

Susan Buckle UK Space Agency

The UK Space Agency’s Astronaut Flight Education Programme Support Manager Susan Buckle will be giving a presentation at the RSGB Convention on Saturday, October 8.

Along with Ciaran Morgan M0XTD she will talk about the ten UK ARISS amateur radio school contacts with astronaut Tim Peake GB1SS during his Principia mission on the International Space Station.

These contacts have inspired thousands of young people and introduced them to amateur radio in a new and exciting way.

The full schedule and booking information for the convention are available at http://rsgb.org/convention Twitter hashtag #RSGBconv2016

An RSGB video celebrates these historic school contacts and the range of linked activities the schools have enjoyed.

Beginning with the exhilaration of the launch, it follows the competition for schools to host the ARISS contacts, and showcases the variety of science, technology, engineering, maths (STEM) and arts activities that helped pupils to understand more about space and amateur radio.

The contacts themselves, often led by newly-licensed pupils, were the successful culmination of many months of work and anticipation.

Watch GB1SS: schools speaking to Tim Peake

ARISS Principia https://principia.ariss.org/

What is Amateur Radio? http://www.essexham.co.uk/what-is-amateur-radio

Find an amateur radio training course near you https://thersgb.org/services/coursefinder/

A free booklet is available aimed at introducing newcomers to the hobby that can also be used as a handy reference while getting started, see
http://rsgb.org/main/get-started-in-amateur-radio/alex-discovers-amateur-radio-2/

Aug 16 2016

Amateur Radio Space Communications at Raspberry Pi event

Seema Talib-Hussain talking to Tim Peake GB1SS

Seema talking to Tim Peake GB1SS

Pete Sipple M0PSX from Essex Ham will be giving a talk about the Tim Peake GB1SS amateur radio school contacts at the Southend Raspberry Jam on Saturday, August 20.

The talk about Tim Peake’s amateur radio educational outreach activity starts at 10:30. Other activities during the day include a talk on Tim Peake and the AstroPi at 11:30 and a Build a Radio Workshop at 12:00.

Southend Tech and Enterprise4Good are holding Southend Raspberry Jam #10 at the Hive Enterprise Centre in Southend, SS2 6EX. The event runs from 10am until 5pm and is free but advance booking is required, see
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/southend-raspberry-jam-10-tickets-26560533270

What is Amateur Radio? http://www.essexham.co.uk/what-is-amateur-radio

Find a short Amateur Radio training course near you at https://thersgb.org/services/coursefinder/

Aug 15 2016

ISS SSTV on Baofeng Handheld

ISS SSTV MAI-75 image 9/12 received by Chertsey Radio Club on Baofeng handheld

ISS SSTV MAI-75 image 9/12 received by Chertsey Radio Club

The Chertsey Radio Club demonstrated that you can receive pictures from Space using simple low-cost equipment such a Baofeng VHF handheld radio and a Lynx-7 Tablet.

On Monday, August 15, 2016 radio amateurs from Japan, India and countries as far west as Brazil successfully copied Slow Scan Television images transmitted on 145.800 MHz FM from the Russian amateur radio station located in the ISS Service Module.

The Russian Cosmonauts were using a Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver thought to be running about 25 watts output. It gave a good signal which could easily by copied on VHF handheld transceivers such as the popular Baofengs.

It expected there will be further SSTV transmissions on Tuesday, August 16. The ISS transmits 5 kHz deviation FM, if your transceiver has selectable FM filters you should select the wider filter for best results.

Receive Pictures from Space – ISS SSTV August 15-16
https://amsat-uk.org/2016/08/10/iss-sstv-august/

Receiving an ISS picture is a newsworthy event, if you’ve received part or all of an image why not tell your local newspaper and get some positive publicity for amateur radio
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2016/july/now-is-a-great-time-to-get-ham-radio-publicity.htm

SSTV on a Raspberry Pi 3
http://chertseyradioclub.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/setting-up-raspberry-pi-3-and-qsstv.html

Follow the Chertsey Radio Club on Twitter at
https://twitter.com/chertseyRC

Aug 11 2016

Amateur Radio BIRDS-1 CubeSat Constellation

BIRDS CubeSat Engineering Model integration test

BIRDS CubeSat Engineering Model integration test

The BIRDS-1 constellation consists of five 1U CubeSats (BIRD-B, BIRD-J, BIRD-G, BIRD-M and BIRD-N). They launched to the ISS on a SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS-11 on June 3, 2017. The satellites are made of the exactly same design including the radio frequencies to be used and will be deployed from the ISS later in the year.

BIRDS CubeSat Project LogoThe main mission of the constellation is to do experiments on radio communication with a CubeSat constellation via a network of UHF/VHF amateur radio ground stations all over the world.

The challenge is to distinguish each satellite from the four satellites transmitting with the same frequency, hand over operation of a satellite from one ground station to another and assemble the satellite data, such as housekeeping telemetry, music and the Earth images, obtained at different ground stations.

Amateur radio enthusiasts are asked to join the network to assist in the data downlink and reconstruction of the patchy satellite data into one meaningful data. Orbit information and operational plan of each satellite will be made available to the amateur radio community in the world. Software to decode the satellite data will be also made available.

The respective amateur ground stations that can successfully decode the telemetry data, music and the Earth images, shall receive a QSL card from the BIRDS team. The data reconstructed by the effort of the amateur ground station network will be made public to share the sense of satisfaction and achievement.

BIRDS CubeSat NationsA particularly interesting mission of BIRDS project is the SNG mission that exchanges music via a digi-singer. It is an outreach-oriented mission. First, music in MIDI format is uploaded from ground. Then the MIDI file is processed on-board using a vocal synthesizer. Finally, the processed music is sent back to Earth using UHF antenna as voice FM data.

During organized events on space utilization with schools or general public, music could be heard using a common hand-held receiver and hand-made Yagi antenna positioned to track the satellite at each given pass over the region. This has a tremendous effect on awareness of radio communication among school children and general public, especially in the countries participating in the BIRDS project, Japan, Ghana, Mongolia, Nigeria and Bangladesh.

Proposing to use CW, 1k2 AFSK FM, audio FM and 9k6 GMSK downlinks. The IARU has coordinated a downlink frequency of 437.375 MHz.

BIRDS project information:
http://birds.ele.kyutech.ac.jp/
http://birds.ele.kyutech.ac.jp/amateur.html
http://birds.ele.kyutech.ac.jp/newsletter.html
https://www.facebook.com/Joint-Global-Multi-Nation-Birds-BIRDS-project-171403156542445/

Download the Paper – IAA-CU-15-01-16 Five-nations CubeSat constellation; An inexpensive test case for learning and capacity building
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289868265_IAA-CU-15-01-16_Five-nations_CubeSat_constellation_An_inexpensive_test_case_for_learning_and_capaci-_ty_building

The IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination pages are hosted by AMSAT-UK at
http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/

Aug 10 2016

Receive Pictures from Space – ISS SSTV August 15-16

ISS SSTV image 2 received by Mike Rupprecht DK3WN April 12, 2016 at 1556 UT

ISS SSTV image 2 received by Mike Rupprecht DK3WN April 12, 2016 at 1556 UT

The ARRL reports Slow-scan television (SSTV) transmissions will be made from the International Space Station (ISS) on August 15-16, 2016.

The MAI-75 Experiment will transmit SSTV images on 145.800 MHz FM over the course of a few orbits as the space station passes over Moscow. Operators in Europe and South America will have the best chances to receive images. Operators along the US East Coast may have one chance on August 16.

Thanks to Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, ISS Ham Project Coordinator

The ISS Fan Club website 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/

ARISS-SSTV Images http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.co.uk/

Listen to the ISS when it is over Russia with the R4UAB WebSDR

Listen to the ISS when in range of London with the SUWS WebSDR http://websdr.suws.org.uk/

If you receive a full or partial picture from the Space Station your Local Newspaper may like to know http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2016/july/now-is-a-great-time-to-get-ham-radio-publicity.htm