Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 14, Issue 146
Responding to this and other e-mails on the SSTV event this weekend:
The only time I got to listen this weekend was on a 1455z AOS for me this morning and as reported have the BB all weekend long modulation levels were down in the dirt. I had my HT volume cranked almost all the way up. That?s not normal for these activities. Just trying to understand why a whole weekend can go with that situation and not a
solution was to be had.
Please remember that ARISS is not the prime activity on ISS. There are over 300 international experiments currently operational on ISS on this expedition. I just heard in a teleconference last week that that number will go to about 500 experiments in the next 1-2 years.
Because of the vast number of experiments going on at the same time, we can only occasionally get suggestions to the crew to make changes to our payload. Any work arounds on any experiment/payload will compete with the crew's already fully booked schedule. Several ARISS team members, particularly our teammate in Russia, were out of pocket this past weekend. Our Russian colleague was informed of the issue early-on and acknowledged the issue. But he also needs to get tied into Mission Control. That is difficult from afar. And even if we ask for a change, it is challenging to get the crew time to make this happen. Especially if it is outside the flight planning stage.
Once we have the Interoperable Radio System on ISS, we plan to augment our radio system with a ground commandable capability. We have already developed a concept for this capability. Once in place, we will be able to do many things with our radio without crew intervention, including mode changes to support SSTV, APRS, Voice Repeater, etc.. This capability will also be important if we fly ham radio on the Lunar Gateway, which will not have crew on it 24/7.
Please note that to keep ARISS alive and implementing new capabilities requires a great deal of funding. As an example, ARISS currently has two individuals on travel to NASA Johnson running tests for the interoperable radio system. This is one of three travel trips required to get the radio system ready for flight. Each one of these trips will cost ARISS about $3000 in travel---nearly $10,000 for these three testing events. Also, this past week, we spent $1,100 to transport the HamTV that was returned from ISS back to Italy to undergo troubleshooting to potentially repair the anomaly we experienced on ISS. We have a Fundrazr activity right now to prepare the Interoperable Radio System for Launch. We need $150,000 by the end of this year and are well short of our goal right now. If you really want to see improvements in the ISS radio system from where it is today, please strongly consider donating to ARISS. Push the donate button at www.ariss.org. You can donate at several levels and even a little at a time on a monthly basis. At some donation levels, your callsign and name will be included on the interoperable radio system that will fly to ISS!
Thanks for all your interest and support to ARISS. I hope this helps explain a little about what is happening on ISS.
73, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO ARISS International Chair AMSAT VP for Human Spaceflight Programs
Frank, Thanks for letting all know what takes place on the ISS, and priorities. I'm VERY impressed that they are able to accomplish all that they do. --- Ciao baby, catch you on the flip side. GEO
Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.
On Monday, April 15, 2019, 2:26:02 PM PDT, Frank Bauer via AMSAT-BB [email protected] wrote:
Responding to this and other e-mails on the SSTV event this weekend:
The only time I got to listen this weekend was on a 1455z AOS for me this morning and as reported have the BB all weekend long modulation levels were down in the dirt. I had my HT volume cranked almost all the way up. That?s not normal for these activities. Just trying to understand why a whole weekend can go with that situation and not a
solution was to be had.
Please remember that ARISS is not the prime activity on ISS. There are over 300 international experiments currently operational on ISS on this expedition. I just heard in a teleconference last week that that number will go to about 500 experiments in the next 1-2 years.
Because of the vast number of experiments going on at the same time, we can only occasionally get suggestions to the crew to make changes to our payload. Any work arounds on any experiment/payload will compete with the crew's already fully booked schedule. Several ARISS team members, particularly our teammate in Russia, were out of pocket this past weekend. Our Russian colleague was informed of the issue early-on and acknowledged the issue. But he also needs to get tied into Mission Control. That is difficult from afar. And even if we ask for a change, it is challenging to get the crew time to make this happen. Especially if it is outside the flight planning stage.
Once we have the Interoperable Radio System on ISS, we plan to augment our radio system with a ground commandable capability. We have already developed a concept for this capability. Once in place, we will be able to do many things with our radio without crew intervention, including mode changes to support SSTV, APRS, Voice Repeater, etc.. This capability will also be important if we fly ham radio on the Lunar Gateway, which will not have crew on it 24/7.
Please note that to keep ARISS alive and implementing new capabilities requires a great deal of funding. As an example, ARISS currently has two individuals on travel to NASA Johnson running tests for the interoperable radio system. This is one of three travel trips required to get the radio system ready for flight. Each one of these trips will cost ARISS about $3000 in travel---nearly $10,000 for these three testing events. Also, this past week, we spent $1,100 to transport the HamTV that was returned from ISS back to Italy to undergo troubleshooting to potentially repair the anomaly we experienced on ISS. We have a Fundrazr activity right now to prepare the Interoperable Radio System for Launch. We need $150,000 by the end of this year and are well short of our goal right now. If you really want to see improvements in the ISS radio system from where it is today, please strongly consider donating to ARISS. Push the donate button at www.ariss.org. You can donate at several levels and even a little at a time on a monthly basis. At some donation levels, your callsign and name will be included on the interoperable radio system that will fly to ISS!
Thanks for all your interest and support to ARISS. I hope this helps explain a little about what is happening on ISS.
73, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO ARISS International Chair AMSAT VP for Human Spaceflight Programs
_______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
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