ARISS-F and AMSAT-F have announced the 13 French schools that have been selected for amateur radio contacts with ISS astronaut Thomas Pesquet KG5FYG.
He is planned to launch to the International Space Station in November 2016. The 13 French schools selected represents 66% of planned ARISS contacts for Europe.
Sandringham student Jessica Leigh M6LPJ established radio contact with Tm Peake GB1SS
Pete M0PSX had the opportunity to talk about the ARISS school contacts and amateur radio during a radio show aired on Basildon Hospital Radio and community station Gateway FM.
The interview was broadcast on 1287 AM, 97.8 FM, via the patient bedside system at Basildon Hospital, and online via both station’s Internet streams.
In the interview, Pete discussed the perception of amateur radio, how the hobby has kept pace with technology, and some of the activities taking place in Essex. There was also some discussion of the various Tim Peake ARISS contacts, plus a short extract of the first ARISS Tim Peake contact, with Sandringham School in St Albans.
The interview was arranged by the Chair of Basildon Hospital Radio Jacqui James M3TWO. Jacqui took the amateur radio Foundation training course run by the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society. To find out more the course contact the CARS Training Manager at:
Email: training2016 <at> g0mwt.org.uk
Web: http://g0mwt.org.uk/training
A huge team of volunteers worked flat out to make it happen. The project was initiated by ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station), enthusiasts who work with space agencies all over the world to inspire children about space and technology. Ciaran Morgan M0XTD, its UK leader, tells me how they approached the European Space Agency and persuaded them to let them do it and how the rest has been down to the volunteers. “All Tim has to do is put on his headphones and press a button. We do everything else.”
Ten people spent three days setting up the equipment, the audio feeds, the video feed and the satellite backup at Goonhilly, down the road in Cornwall. “All amateur means is ‘for the love of it’,” Morgan tells the audience. “As you see, the equipment we’re using is very, very professional.”
A reflection from the structure of the International Space Station enabled a 144.175 MHz signal from Tim GK4LOH in Cornwall to cross the Atlantic.
The YouTube description reads:
02:40 UTC May 24th 2016 ISS Flypast. Signal heard 2 minutes 45 into the recording and continues for over a minute. The transmitted message was “GK4LOH GK4LOH T T T T T T T T T T”
As soon as ISS set in GN37 I stepped outside the shack and watched as the ISS fly right over here 🙂 Recorded by Frank VO1HP using the remote receiver beacon VO1FN.
Watch GK4LOH IO70jc reception at VO1FN GN37jr 3467km 144.175MHz ISS flypast
Tomsk-TPU-120 CubeSat – Credit Tomsk Polytechnic University
The Russian space agency Roscosmos has released a video of the Tomsk-TPU-120 CubeSat commemorative transmission from the International Space Station.
The satellite was developed by students at the Tomsk Polytechnic University to test new space materials technology and is the world’s first space vehicle with a 3D-printed structure. It was launched from Baikonur to the ISS on March 31, 2016 in a Progress-MS-2 cargo vessel. It will be deployed by hand during a future Russian spacewalk (EVA), which is why unlike other CubeSats this one has a handle. The call sign of the satellite is RS4S.
In May 2016 the Tomsk Polytechnic University celebrated its 120th anniversary. As part of the celebrations on May 10/11 the Tomsk-TPU-120 was activated in the ISS and transmitted a greeting to Earth inhabitants, recorded by students of the university in 10 languages: Russian, English, German, French, Chinese, Arabic, Tatar, Indian, Kazakh and Portuguese.
The greeting message was transmitted once a minute on 437.025 MHz FM. One of the Kenwood transceivers on the ISS provided a cross-band relay, re-transmitting the signal on 145.800 MHz FM.
The video, recorded in the Russian ISS Service Module, shows the CubeSat and the amateur radio station.
The MinXSS and CADRE CubeSats, both carrying amateur radio payloads, are set to be deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on May 16, 2016 between 1000-1100 UT.
MinXSS will be beaconing in the UHF at 437.345 MHz every 9 seconds and will initially be in an orbit very similar to the ISS. We’ll get the TLE identifier in JSpOC labeled ASAP. The CADRE team may send out an email with their frequency information as well. [IARU has coordinated 437.485 MHz and 3.404 GHz for CADRE]
If you hear the MinXSS beacons, we would greatly appreciate it if you’d email us (me and those cc’d) to let us know. We’re still working on beacon decode/forward software that would bring you more in the loop.
For those interested, MinXSS is a science mission to study soft x-ray spectra from the sun. We’ll also be the first to fly the very popular Blue Canyon Technologies XACT attitude determination and control system.
Thanks for your help!
James Paul Mason, PhD
Postdoctoral research associate
MinXSS grad student lead turned co-investigator
University of Colorado at Boulder
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
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