Tag Archives: ISS

Feb 3 2016

All UK ARISS shortlisted schools are now scheduled

Tim Peake KG5BVI preparing for his spacewalk in January

Tim Peake KG5BVI preparing for his spacewalk in January

After the original competition to find schools that could demonstrate a commitment to Space, STEM and outreach was launched by ARISS in the UK and the UK Space Agency, we announced that ten schools had been shortlisted but that not all of those school would have an opportunity to talk to Tim Peake on the ISS.  In fact Tim himself announced at the UK Space Conference in July 2015 that there would be at least three such contacts and that he was hopeful of more.

The ARISS UK team, working with the ARISS International community, are now pleased to announce that after a number of discussions, all ten schools selected for the UK shortlist have now been scheduled. The proposed scheduled is as follows:-

Jan 8 at 0847 GMT : Sandringham School GB1SAN, St. Albans, Herts
Feb 11 at 1811 GMT : Royal Masonic School for Girls GB1RMS, Rickmansworth, Herts
Feb 19 at 1420 GMT : Oasis Academy Brightstowe GB1OAB, Bristol
Feb 26 at 1440 GMT : City Norwich School GB2CNS, Norwich
Mar 5 at 1053 GMT : Powys Combined Schools GB4PCS, Powys, Wales
Apr 18 at 1456 GMT (3:56 pm BST) : St Richards Catholic College GB4SRC, Bexhill on Sea
Apr 23 at 1210 GMT (1:10 pm BST) : Wellesley House School GB1WHS, Broadstairs,  Kent
Apr 25 at 1202 GMT (1:02 pm BST) : The Derby High School GB1DHS, Bury Lancashire
May 5 at 0808 GMT (9:08 am BST) : Ashfield Primary School GB1APS, Otley, West Yorkshire
May 9 at 0926 GMT (10:26 am BST) : The Kings School GB1OSM, Ottery St Mary, Devon

These dates correspond to the predicted orbits of the International Space Station visible during the school day (typically 08:00 – 18:00hrs) and when it is orbiting over the UK.  A significant amount of planning remains to be carried out to turn these proposals into confirmed events – Tim’s on-orbit work schedule also has to be such that he is able to carry out the contact at the same time as the ISS is orbiting over the UK and the schools are available to make the call.  Not a simple task!

We will update the ARISS Principia site with more information as it becomes available so make sure you keep checking there, on Twitter (@m0xtd) or on the UK Space Agency website.

73s

Ciaran – M0XTD
ARISS Operations Lead in the UK

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

July 2015 – School shortlist announced https://amsat-uk.org/2015/07/14/school-shortlist-tim-peake-iss/

Video of Tim Peake ham radio contact with Sandringham School on January 8, 2016
https://amsat-uk.org/2016/01/09/video-tim-peake-sandringham/

Listening to the ISS on a handheld radio https://amsat-uk.org/2016/01/10/listening-iss-on-handheld/

Get press publicity by receiving ISS school contacts
https://amsat-uk.org/2016/03/10/press-publicity-receiving-iss/

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/

Feb 2 2016

Primary school students tune in to Tim Peake

St Mildred’s Primary Infant school students listen to Tim Peake using amateur radio

St Mildred’s Primary Infant school students listen to Tim Peake using amateur radio

The amazing interest in Tim Peake’s mission on the International Space Station (ISS) is keeping the Hilderstone Amateur Radio and Electronics Club busy with enquiries from schools.

The pupils of Monkton C of E Primary school were thrilled to receive a message from space when they picked up the signal from a passing amateur radio satellite. They calculated the orbital period from the variations in the satellite’s temperature as it passed from sunlight into the Earth’s shadow, taking 97 minutes to orbit compared to Tim’s 93 minutes. They learned how Isaac Newton explained the orbit of objects around the Earth nearly 300 years before Sputnik was launched!

The year 2 pupils of St Mildred’s Primary Infant school were very excited to hear Tim’s voice live when he answered the pupils’ questions from Sandringham school. They were using 3 handheld amateur radio receivers provided by the club and heard Tim’s reply to the question about the mission being named after Newton’s book Principia.

If you would like to learn about amateur radio and electronics you will be made most welcome at the club. Alternatively you can send them an email to hilderstoneclub<at>gmail.com or visit the club website.

Hilderstone Amateur Radio and Electronics Club
http://g0hrs.org/
https://twitter.com/G0HRS

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/

Jan 30 2016

An Unlikely Pair of Satellites

Students working on AggieSat4 and Bevo-2 satellites - Credit Texas A&M University / Dexter Becklund

Students working on the AggieSat4 and Bevo-2 satellites – Credit Texas A&M University / Dexter Becklund

Dr Helen Reed KD7GPX is interviewed in a NASA story about the AggieSat4 and Bevo-2 satellites which were deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on January 29, 2016.

Students from Texas A&M University and The University of Texas came together for the LONESTAR investigation.

This collaborative effort sent a pair of satellites, AggieSat4 and Bevo-2, to the International Space Station. The satellites were deployed from the space station on January 29, and AggieSat4 will eject Bevo-2 as part of a demonstration of technology with applications for future space exploration.

The two satellites will demonstrate communication protocols between them and with ground stations, as well as systems that allow the satellites to navigate through space and relative to each other and to orient themselves in three dimensions. Flight demonstration of these abilities, necessary for unmanned craft to be able to rendezvous and dock in space without direct human intervention, will contribute to future satellite missions as well.

“The overall objective is to find ways for small spacecraft to join together autonomously in space,” said Dr. Helen Reed, KD7GPX, professor of aerospace engineering and director of the AggieSat Lab at Texas A&M. “We need simple systems that will allow rendezvous and docking with little to no help from a human, which will become especially important as we venture farther out into space. Applications could include in-space assembly or reconfiguration of larger structures or systems as well as servicing and repair.”

Small satellites are less expensive to build and investigators can more easily find space on rocket launches to send them into orbit, but it does take creative thinking to design a functioning satellite with smaller volume and less power. Bevo-2 is 13.3 inches long, 5.3 inches high and 5.3 inches wide, about the size of a loaf of bread. AggieSat4 measures 24 by 24 by 12 inches, slightly larger than a piece of carry-on luggage. Together the satellites weigh 114 pounds.

Read the full story at
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/unlikely-pair-of-satellites.html

Watch The deployment of AggieSat4

The IARU has coordinated these frequencies for the amateur radio payloads:
• AggieSat4 436.250 MHz 9k6 FSK telemetry (also 153.6 kbps FSK)
• Bevo-2 437.325 MHz CW and 38k4 FSK

The AggieSat4 team request that any amateur radio enthusiasts receiving the beacons sends any data to aggiesat@tamu.edu it would be much appreciated!

AggieSat4 information
https://twitter.com/aggiesat
https://www.facebook.com/AggieSatLab
http://aggiesatweb.tamu.edu/index.php/projects/lab_projects/aggiesat4
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/v8razh1evcabt7a/jrGSjbOJb4

Bevo-2 information
https://www.facebook.com/UTSatLab
https://www.ae.utexas.edu/news/features/bevo-2-satellite-sdl

AggieSat4 reception reports http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?cat=313

Jan 28 2016

Sandringham School presentation

Handheld transceivers being presented to Sandringham School students

Handheld transceivers being presented to Sandringham School students

On Monday, January  26, 2016, Tony Wiltshire, M0TNY/ZB2TY – from Martin Lynch & Sons Ltd and Mark Haynes, M0DXR – from Kenwood UK visited Sandringham School in St Albans.

A presentation and demonstration was made to Polly, M6POG, Emma, M6GJQ and Jessica, M6LPJ, the school’s newly licenced amateurs who previously had made the initial contact with Tim Peake GB1SS aboard the ISS.

The girls had placed orders for Kenwood’s TH-K20E VHF handies with ML&S and have been looking forward to being active on the bands with their own equipment. ML&S hope the demonstration will get them the air very soon and they also thank headmaster Alan Gray, G4DJX, for his hospitality and wish Sandringham School Radio Hams the best for the future!

Rumour has it that 15 more students from the school will be taking their licence exams as a result of the interest from the ISS contact.

ML&S website http://www.MLandS.co.uk/

Video of Tim Peake ham radio contact with Sandringham School
https://amsat-uk.org/2016/01/09/video-tim-peake-sandringham/

TV News: Sandringham school amateur radio ISS contact
https://amsat-uk.org/2016/01/08/bbc-tv-sandringham-school-amateur-radio-iss-contact/

Local newspaper reports reception of Tim Peake KG5BVI / GB1SS from the ISS
https://amsat-uk.org/2016/01/13/local-paper-tim-peake-iss/

Listening to the ISS on a handheld radio
https://amsat-uk.org/2016/01/10/listening-iss-on-handheld/

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/

Jan 27 2016

ISS AggieSat4 Satellite Deployment

Simulation of AggieSat4 on orbit - Credit Andrew Shell

Simulation of AggieSat4 on orbit – Credit Andrew Shell

The AggieSat4 satellite carrying the Bevo-2 CubeSat is expected to be deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on January 29, both have amateur radio payloads.

Below is a timelapse of the build process of the Texas A&M student-built satellite, AggieSat4. The video spans an entire year, the amount of time it took to build AGS4, however many more years were put into the design and programming of AGS4 before any hardware was assembled.

AggieSat4 was launched aboard the Orbital ATK Cygnus OA-4 cargo resupply mission. The Cygnus spacecraft was mounted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that took the Cygnus from the Kennedy Space Center up into Low Earth Orbit on December 6 at 4:44pm EST.

AGS4 is planned to release from the ISS on January 29 and will then proceed to eject the University of Texas CubeSat, Bevo-2 and perform relative navigation tasks as well as take pictures of the release of Bevo-2.

The IARU has coordinated these frequencies for the amateur radio payloads:
AggieSat4 436.250 MHz 9k6 FSK telemetry (also 153.6 kbps FSK)
Bevo-2 437.325 MHz CW and 38k4 FSK

Watch AggieSat4 Build Process Timelapse – LONESTAR 2

The AggieSat4 team request that any amateur radio enthusiasts receiving the beacons sends any data to aggiesat@tamu.edu it would be much appreciated!

AggieSat4 information
https://twitter.com/aggiesat
https://www.facebook.com/AggieSatLab
http://aggiesatweb.tamu.edu/index.php/projects/lab_projects/aggiesat4
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/v8razh1evcabt7a/jrGSjbOJb4

Bevo-2 information
https://www.facebook.com/UTSatLab
https://www.ae.utexas.edu/news/features/bevo-2-satellite-sdl

AggieSat4 reception reports http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?cat=313

Jan 24 2016

Chelmsford Talk: Amateur Radio Satellites

Steve Hedgecock M0SHQ sending Packet Radio to the ISS

Steve Hedgecock M0SHQ sending Packet Radio to the ISS

On Tuesday, February 2, Steve Hedgecock M0SHQ will give a presentation to the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society (CARS) on amateur radio satellites, the talk is open to all.

The main part of the presentation will be on simple satellite operation using an FT-817 and hand held antennas. Steve will also cover amateur radio activity on the International Space Station (ISS) including using the ISS APRS digipeater and reception of ISS Slow Scan Television (SSTV).

The talk coincides with the mission of UK astronaut Tim Peake GB1SS on the space station. Some of you may have already heard Tim using the amateur radio station in the Columbus module to link up with school students as part of the ARISS program.

The meeting takes place at the Oaklands Museum, Moulsham Street, CM2 9AQ. The doors open at 7pm for a 7:30pm start, car parking and admittance are free, visitors are most welcome.

Map http://www.g0mwt.org.uk/meeting-map.pdf

Web http://g0mwt.org.uk/

CARS run short amateur radio training courses, to find out about the next course speak to the training manager Peter Davies M0PSD, contact details are at http://www.g0mwt.org.uk/training/

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