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{
    "url": "https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/api/list/[email protected]/email/RL7WVHMSY32VYPCL63FNDNTHVJWONU5O/?format=api",
    "mailinglist": "https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/api/list/[email protected]/?format=api",
    "message_id": "39FCD4AF69B84D91A2B80E78942DFA7D@DGXC4DC1",
    "message_id_hash": "RL7WVHMSY32VYPCL63FNDNTHVJWONU5O",
    "thread": "https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/api/list/[email protected]/thread/RL7WVHMSY32VYPCL63FNDNTHVJWONU5O/?format=api",
    "sender": {
        "address": "morsesat (a) optonline.net",
        "mailman_id": "72f51eafcada419487d1a984af73dff5",
        "emails": "https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/api/sender/72f51eafcada419487d1a984af73dff5/emails/?format=api"
    },
    "sender_name": "Dee",
    "subject": "[ans]  ANS-104 ANS Special Bulletin",
    "date": "2011-04-14T18:40:49Z",
    "parent": null,
    "children": [],
    "votes": {
        "likes": 0,
        "dislikes": 0,
        "status": "neutral"
    },
    "content": " \nAMSAT NEWS SERVICE\nANS-104 ANS Special Bulletin - ARISSat-1 Not Heard During Gagarin\nCommemoration\n\nSB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-104.01\nARISSat-1 Not Heard During Gagarin Commemoration\n\nAMSAT News Service Bulletin 104.01\n>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.\nApril 14, 2011\nTo All RADIO AMATEURS\nBID: $ANS-104.01\n\nThe planned operation of ARISSat-1/RadioSkaf-V/KEDR on April\n11 and April 12 from inside the International Space Station as part of the\ncommemoration of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight was not\nsuccessful. No earth stations on the ground reported hearing transmissions\non the ARISSat-1 downlink(145.950 MHz for FM analog/145.920 MHz for\ndigital).\nThe planned retransmission of the satellite's FM downlink via the Kenwood\nTM-D700 transceiver --currently used for ARISS contacts--was also not\nsuccessful as no reports were\nreceived of signals heard on 437.550 MHz.   However, a \nsimilar ARISSat-1 transmission test conducted in February was successful,\nwith 145.950 MHz signals being successfully received by several ground\nstations. \n\nAt this point it isn't clear to the ARISSat-1 team what went wrong with the\nmost recent test.  Unfortunately, little information has been shared by\nRSC-Energia concerning plans made to configure the satellite and the\ninterface used to connect the satellite to one of the external ARISS\nantennas. \nThe status of the satellite's Russian-provided silver zinc battery is also\nunknown.\n\nARISSat-1 is a cooperative effort of AMSAT, RSC-Energia and NASA.  AMSAT\ndesigned and built the spacecraft as a prototype of a proposed series of\neducational satellites which can carry student-built experiments.  The\nARISSat-1 prototype features a student experiment designed and built by\nKursk State Technical University in Russia.  A backup was also provided\n(without solar panels). AMSAT delivered the two units to NASA's Johnson\nSpace Center in Houston, TX in early October.  NASA has led the integration\nof ARISSat-1 into the ISS flight program.  NASA coordinated the logistics of\ntransporting the satellite and a backup unit, including export licensing,\nfrom Houston to Moscow.  The shipment occurred in early December immediately\nfollowing RSC-Energia confirmation that the appropriate import documentation\nhad been approved.  NASA also conducted the three-phase Payload Safety\nReview that ARISSat-1 had to pass in order to be permitted to be shipped to\nthe ISS and deployed from the Space Station.  Per protocol agreements signed\nby AMSAT, NASA and RSC-Energia, RSC-Energia assumed full responsibility for\nARISSat-1 after NASA shipped the prime and backup units.  RSC-Energia's\nstipulated responsibilities included integration of the Kursk experiment,\nproviding a silver zinc battery for the spacecraft, shipment of the primary\nflight unit to the ISS via a Progress Cargo vehicle (which took place in\nJanuary 2011) and subsequent deployment during a planned Russian EVA in\nFebruary 2011.  \n\nOnce AMSAT shipped ARISSat-1 and the backup unit in early October, AMSAT was\nno longer directly involved with management and operation of the satellite.\nAMSAT agreed to send a representative to Moscow (Lou McFadin, W5DID) in\norder to assist with testing and final checkout of the satellite once it\narrived from the US.  Lou was accompanied by NASA's Mark Steiner, K3MS and\nthe requests for visas and access the RSC-Energia facilities was coordinated\nby NASA.  Due to visa limitations (Russia does not allow changes to visas\nonce individuals are in Russia), the window for Lou's and Mark's  time in\nMoscow could not be changed once it became apparent that the shipment was\nbeing held by Russian customs and wouldn't be released until after the\nexpiration of visas.\nDuring the time that Lou and Mark were in Moscow, testing procedures were\ndrafted and agreed to by RSC-Energia's principal investigator for ARISSat-1\n(Sergey Samburov, RV3DR) as a signed protocol to assist the Russian\nengineers with testing and checkout without the presence of AMSAT.  Lou and\nMark departed Moscow on 22 DEC 10 for the US and the satellite with the\nbackup unit were subsequently released from Russian customs and delivered to\nRSC-Energia on\n28 DEC 10 following submission of appropriate documentation by RSC-Energia. \n\nIn addition to the missed opportunity for AMSAT and NASA to participate in\nthe checkout in Moscow, the delayed release from Russian Customs also meant\nthat the satellite arrived in RSC-Energia just as they were commencing a\n10-day total holiday shutdown from 1-10 JAN 11.  In order to make launch of\nthe Progress 41P cargo vehicle to the ISS in January, the satellite had to\nbe flown to the Baikonour Cosmodrome on\n11 JAN 11, the day after RSC-Energia personnel returned from their holiday.\nSergey Samburov, RV3DR spent a period of time during the holiday period\nconducting a checkout of the satellite, but it is still unclear whether the\ndocumentation provided by Lou McFadin and Mark Steiner and agreed to as a\nprotocol was followed.  For example, AMSAT and NASA have yet to receive any\nof the full set of closeout photographs of the satellite's exterior\nstipulated in the protocol.  \n\nThe satellite did make the flight to Baikonour and was subsequently flown to\nthe ISS on 28 JAN 11 on Progress cargo vehicle 41P.  Once the satellite\narrived at the Space Station, there was another unexpected alteration to the\noriginal plan which has been previously agreed to by AMSAT, NASA, and\nRSC-Energia.  Russian officials now wanted confirmation that the satellite\nwas in working order prior to EVA deployment.\nWhy this decision was made was never fully explained to AMSAT or NASA. Even\nthough the satellite was never intended to be operated from inside the ISS,\nthe RSC-Energia team made plans to operate ARISSat-1 from inside the ISS\nduring the period\n10-13 FEB 11, connecting the two-meter transmitter to one of the external\nantenna used for ARISS contacts with the intent of getting confirmation from\nground stations that the satellite's transmissions could be received by\namateur radio stations on the ground.  This unexpected development raised\nAMSAT and NASA concerns given the potential for damage to the spacecraft\ninside the ISS and the possibility of misinterpretation of results.  Despite\nthese concerns, the test was successfully conducted on 10 FEB 11 for 20\nhours with the Kenwood TM-D700 on the ISS used to verify normal transmission\nfrom the satellite. Ground stations, including Tony Monteiro AA2TX, did\nprovide reception reports confirming successful operation of the satellite.\n\nARISSat-1 was scheduled to be deployed during Russian EVA-28, scheduled for\n16 FEB 11, as one of the planned tasks on that EVA.  However, AMSAT and NASA\nwere informed on 11 FEB that RSC-Energia officials decided to remove the\nsatellite deployment from the Russian EVA-28 schedule of activities due to\ncomplications with another task scheduled for that EVA.  AMSAT and NASA were\ninformed that the\nARISSat-1 deployment would be rescheduled and included as a task in the next\nRussian EVA, currently scheduled for July 2011. Around the same time, the\nRSC-Energia Principle Investigator mentioned the possibility of a \"special\nevent involving ARISSat-1\" around the date of the 50th anniversary of the\nGagarin flight commemoration on 12 APR 11.  AMSAT and NASA inferred that, by\nretaining the satellite onboard the ISS until the next Russian EVA in July,\nRSC-Energia could ensure that the satellite could be activated within the\nISS specifically for the Gagarin Commemoration.  \n\nDuring the period from the testing on 10 FEB 11 to the planned time of\nactivation on 11 APR 11, the satellite was placed in storage on the ISS.\nAMSAT and NASA  were not informed of the configuration the satellite was in\nwhen it was stored, though it appears that the Lexan covers over the solar\npanels had been removed and replaced by 'soft covers' \nthat were meant to be used only in preparation for deployment.\nWe were not informed if the satellite was deactivated following the test, or\nif the battery was disconnected to prevent drainage, or if the satellite may\nhave been inadvertently left on. Given that operation of the satellite from\nwithin the ISS was never part of the original plan and these activities took\nplace without AMSAT and NASA involvement, the ARISSat-1 engineering team is\nin the dark concerning the impact of storage on the satellite. As the\noriginally agreed-to plan was to deploy the satellite within only a few\nweeks of arrival on the ISS, there were no provisions made in the satellite\ndesign to prepare the satellite for long-term storage on the ISS.\n\nAdding to the lack of information was that the primary RSC-Energia Principle\nInvestigator for ARISSat-1 went on vacation for the entire month of March\nand there wasn't a designated backup to coordinate with AMSAT and NASA.  \nSergey, RV3DR returned from vacation on 1 APR 11, but was unavailable for\nthe regularly scheduled weekly conference call that was scheduled to take\nplace on 5 APR 11. This meant that AMSAT and NASA were not apprised of the\ndetails for planned operation of ARISSat-1 for the Gagarin Commemoration\nuntil late in the first week in April.  AMSAT sent out a press release to\nthe media on Friday, 8 APR 11, as well as a special ANS Bulletin containing\nthe information that had been provided to AMSAT through information gathered\nby our counterparts at NASA who have access to a schedule of the planned\ndaily activities of the ISS crew.\n\nThe documentation for the configuration and operation on 11-12 APR was\ndeveloped by RSC-Energia without AMSAT or NASA input.\nAMSAT and NASA were provided a draft plan only a couple of days prior to\noperation; that document was in Russian and we could not comment on it prior\nto planned activation.  One new development was the last-minute decision by\nRSC-Energia to retransmit the ARISSat-1 two-meter FM downlink on 70 CM by\nconfiguring the Kenwood TM-700 that is currently used for ARISS contacts in\ncross-band repeat mode.  The ARISS team was asked for a recommendation on\nwhich frequency would be appropriate to use, and the suggestion was made to\nuse 437.550 MHz.  However, procedures for configuration of the TM-D700 were\nnot shared with AMSAT or NASA.  There remains the distinct possibility that\nthe unsuccessful result of this test was due to a misconfiguration of\nARISSat-1, its interface to the ARISS external antenna, or the TM-D700.  \n\nAn additional consideration is that the Cosmonauts who were available for\nthe Gagarin Commemoration were not necessarily the same individuals involved\nwith the 'test' in early February due to a planned crew rotation that took\nplace in early April, where three individuals (two Russian, one American)\nwere flown to the ISS to supplement three individuals who were still\nonboard. \n\nNeither AMSAT nor NASA received any status reports directly from RSC-Energia\nduring the timeframe of the planned operation. We also don't know what the\nCosmonauts found when they operated the three activation switches on the\ncontrol panel, such as whether the LEDS were lit or not.  The status of the\nflight battery is currently unknown to AMSAT and NASA.\nHopefully, RSC-Energia will provide an update on the status of the satellite\nto AMSAT and NASA and a determination can be made of the health of the\nsatellite.\n\nAs noted above, ARISSat-1 is made possible through the cooperation of\nRSC-Energia, NASA and AMSAT.  However, the degree of information received\nfrom RSC-Energia has been very sporadic, given that ARISSat-1 is technically\na Russian satellite (callsign RS01S), and, per the signed protocol\nagreements, RSC-Energia has assumed full responsibility for all activities\nassociated with ARISSat -1 from pre-launch preparation in Moscow through EVA\ndeployment from ISS.  Indeed, RSC-Energia has never publicly acknowledged\nthat AMSAT was the organization that built the satellite nor the significant\nNASA involvement in the project. Clearly, what our expectations are\nconcerning 'transparency' of information does not coincide to what\nRSC-Energia has been willing to share to date.\n\nWe will continue our efforts to gain insight from RSC-Energia concerning\nwhat transpired regarding their planned Gagarin Commemoration event.  We're\nanxious to know the status of the satellite as well as prospects for\ndeployment in July.  We are dependent upon the willingness of RSC-Energia to\nkeep AMSAT and NASA informed.  As we are apprised of developments, we will\nshare that information.  \n\n\n\n",
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