November 2006 - Sarex (INACTIVE)

NASA Announces News Conference on Next Shuttle Launch
by Arthur Rowe 21 Nov '06

21 Nov '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 > Nov. 21, 2006 > > Katherine Trinidad > Headquarters, Washington > 202-358-3749 > > Jessica Rye > Kennedy Space Center, Fla. > 321-867-2468 > > > NASA ANNOUNCES NEWS CONFERENCE ON NEXT SHUTTLE LAUNCH > > CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - With space shuttle Discovery poised on the > launch pad for the next assembly mission to the International Space > Station, NASA managers plan to hold a news conference at > approximately 3 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Nov. 29 to discuss the status of > the upcoming mission. The news conference will be at the Kennedy > Space Center, Fla., and begin after the conclusion of the traditional > Flight Readiness Review. > > The news conference follows a two-day assessment of preparations for > Discovery's mission, designated STS-116. The Nov. 28-29 meeting may > produce a number of key decisions about the assembly flight, > including selection of an official launch date. The current target > date for the Discovery's launch is no earlier than 9:36 p.m. EST on > Dec. 7. > > Briefing participants: > -- Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations > -- Wayne Hale, Space Shuttle Program manager > -- Mike Leinbach, NASA launch director > > The start of the news conference will depend on the ending time of the > Review. It will air live on NASA TV. > > For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, > visit: > > http://www.nasa.gov/ntv > > For STS-116 crew and mission information, visit: > > http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle > > > -end- > > > > To subscribe to the list, send a message to: > hqnews-subscribe(a)mediaservices.nasa.gov > To remove your address from the list, send a message to: > hqnews-unsubscribe(a)mediaservices.nasa.gov > >

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-11-20 22:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 20 Nov '06

20 Nov '06

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-11-20 22:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Landesmuseum fuer Technik und Arbeit (Mannheim Museum), Mannheim, Germany Successful Mon 2006-11-20 15:57 UTC via telebridge VK5ZAI (***) Centre Hastings Secondary, Madoc, Ontario, Canada, direct via VE3UR Successful Mon 2006-11-20 16:35 UTC 75 deg (***) During Expedition 14, ARISS expects to have one ARISS school contact per month rather than approximately one per week. It is also anticipated that there many not be many general contacts. Total number of ARISS school contacts is 258. (***) QSL information may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ARISS/arissfaq.html http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm#QSL's ISS callsigns: DP0ISS, NA1SS, RS0ISS ***************************************************************************** The schedule page has been updated as of 2006-11-20 22:00 UTC. Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2006-11-20 22:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correctio… tf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf ***************************************************************************** There has been a rumor that the ISS was having direct contacts on the 40 meter band. There is no HF radio equipment on board and available yet. The HF antenna is mounted. Sometimes WA3NAN will retransmit shuttle audio. ***************************************************************************** Expedition 13/14 on orbit: Thomas Reiter DF4TR Expedition 14 on orbit: Michael Lopez-Alegria KE5GTK Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT Expedition 14 future: Sunita Williams, KD5PLB ***************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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STSORBIT Plus Author David Ransom SK
by Arthur Rowe 20 Nov '06

20 Nov '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 I HAVE BEEN USING AND STILL USE THE STS ORBIT PROGRAM SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-323.08 STSORBIT Plus Author David Ransom SK AMSAT News Service Bulletin 323.08 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. November 19, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-323.08 Ken Ernandes, N2WWD told AMSAT the sad news of the passing of STSORBIT PLUS author David Ransom on 5 November 2006. While not a ham, Dave was a long-time supporter of AMSAT and a major player in providing Space Shuttle orbital data to the AMSAT and NASA communities. Dave and Ken worked collaboratively to modify STSORBIT PLUS such that it would provide [manual] Doppler tuning information, thus making the software a useful tool for amateur satellite communications. Amateur Satellite operators around the world will remember Dave for his contributions to AMSAT and will miss him. [ANS thanks Ken Ernandes, N2WWD for the above information]

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Windows XP time sync
by Dieter Schliemann 20 Nov '06

20 Nov '06

Hi In getting ready for the two ARISS contacts this morning, I noticed the two of my Windows XP computers showed time about one minute different between the two computers. When I tried to synchronize time by going to settings/control panel/date and time/internet time and do "Update Now", it failed with both of the time servers given there. I put in the time server: time-A.timefreq.bldrdoc.gov (letter L in small in bldrdoc) and it worked. Now these two computers have the same and correct time again. I thought you may want to know, for accurate ISS tracking purposes, especially during ARISS events. 73 de Dieter kx4y Dieter K. Schliemann, kx4y - zs6bbh - hs0zcn ARISS EchoLink audio feed team member 1803 Roseberry Drive, Scottsboro, AL 35769-3960, USA Home Phone - (256) 259-3900 Cell Phone - (256) 599-0581 (only on when away from home) IRLP node 4713, EchoLink node 47135 Skype user ID: zs6bbh If you prefer not to get future notices of upcoming ARISS events with audio feeds into EchoLink, please send me an e-mail to that effect and will be glad to oblige.

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2 Line ISS Keps 11-19
by Dave Larsen PhD 18 Nov '06

18 Nov '06

ISS 1 25544U 98067A 06322.98842593 .00018062 00000-0 10640-3 0 937 2 25544 051.6324 109.5666 0011248 231.8242 258.7157 15.78208629457586

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ISS STATUS REPORT #06-50
by Arthur Rowe 17 Nov '06

17 Nov '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 International Space Station Status Report #06-50 3 p.m. CST Friday, Nov. 17, 2006 Expedition 13 Crew Expedition 14 Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and flight engineers Mikhail Tyurin and Thomas Reiter continue to prepare for a spacewalk Wednesday, Nov. 22 out of the International Space Station's Russian Pirs Docking Compartment airlock. Lopez-Alegria, who will make his sixth spacewalk, and Tyurin, with three previous spacewalks to his credit, climbed into Russian Orlan spacesuits Friday to test all systems and communications gear. This ended a week during which the spacewalkers also installed U.S. lights on their suit helmets, reviewed procedures for the extravehicular activity and performed leak checks on the Progress 22 craft currently docked to the Pirs airlock. The six-hour spacewalk includes a commercial golf demonstration by Tyurin. Under a commercial agreement between the Russian Federal Space Agency and a Canadian golf company, Tyurin will hit a golf ball into space from a spring-mounted tee on the ladder next to the hatch of Pirs. The ball will be tapped over the back of the station's Russian segment so that the ball travels away from the complex. NASA flight controllers have calculated that it will burn up in the atmosphere in about three days. The ball weighs much less than the standard 45 gram golf ball. The ball used for this demonstration weighs three grams, approximately the weight of three paper clips. During the spacewalk, Tyurin will examine part of the ISS Progress 23 cargo ship. One of the antennas for the Progress' automated docking system may have failed to fold back when the spacecraft approached the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module on Oct. 26. If it's necessary, Tyurin will manually retract that antenna. Also, Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin will reposition a communications antenna on the aft end of Zvezda associated with next year’s docking of the European Automated Transfer Vehicle, check restraining bolts on one of two Russian cargo cranes attached to Pirs and deploy an experiment to measure solar flares. NASA TV coverage of the spacewalk on Nov. 22 begins at 4 p.m. CST. The excursion begins one hour later. Wednesday marked the first live high-definition television broadcast from space. It featured Lopez-Alegria, with Reiter serving as camera operator. The broadcasts were conducted by NHK Television in Japan and the Discovery HD Theater. Known as the Space Video Gateway, the HD system onboard transmits high bandwidth digital television signals to the ground through a computer. Previously, high-definition video was recorded and then returned to Earth for viewing. Flight controllers this week continued to test one of the station's four control moment gyroscopes (CMGs). CMG-3 exhibited high vibrations and electrical currents in the past and was shut down Oct. 9. The recent test results will be compared to a previous series of tests to provide additional data on the state of the gyroscope’s accelerometer, lubricant and lubrication of the spin bearings. CMG-3 is scheduled to be removed and replaced on the STS-118 shuttle mission, targeted for launch in June 2007. The gyroscope will be stowed and returned to Earth on the STS-122 mission next fall. The station continues to function on three healthy CMGs without affecting operations. Reiter also continued work this week on a suite of European Space Agency science experiments, including one called CASPER. Its objective is to develop ways to help astronauts sleep better during long-duration missions. Alteino Long Term Monitoring of Cosmic Rays or ALTCRISS is another experiment Reiter performed. It is allowing scientists to study the effects of shielding on cosmic rays. The information gained may help engineers better understand the radiation environment and how to provide efficient shielding against it. The next station status report will be issued early Nov. 23 after the spacewalk, or earlier if events warrant. For more about the crew's activities and station sighting opportunities, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station ###

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Crabs Give Blood for Space Travel
by Arthur Rowe 17 Nov '06

17 Nov '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 Crabs Give Blood for Space Travel 11.16.2006 Soon, astronauts onboard the ISS will test a high-tech medical device that uses primitive enzymes from horseshoe crabs to diagnose human illness. Nov. 16, 2006: Picture this: You're on a mission to Mars, halfway there from Earth, and you're not feeling well. Your throat hurts when you swallow, your forehead is hot. You don't want to get sick or infect your crewmates. Should you take an antibiotic? If so, which kind? With a new biological laboratory on a chip being developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in partnership with outside researchers, you may be able to get the answer in as little as five minutes. The mini-lab goes by the maxi-acronym LOCAD-PTS, which stands for Lab-On-a-Chip Application Development–Portable Test System. The latest version is a handheld device slated for launch this December aboard shuttle mission STS-116 for testing on the International Space Station. FOR THE REST OF THE STORY GO TO: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/16nov_locad.htm?list833780

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ARISS Event - Centre Hastings Secondary, Madoc, Ontario, Canada, Mon (Nov 20) at 16:35 UTC
by Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] 16 Nov '06

16 Nov '06

An International Space Station Expedition 14 ARISS school contact has been planned with students at Centre Hastings Secondary, Madoc, Ontario, Canada on Monday 20 Nov. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 16:35 UTC. The contact will be a direct between stations NA1SS and VE3UR. The contact should be audible to anyone in eastern portions of Canada and the Northeastern USA . Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. Additional listening options are listed below. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in English. IRLP - Connect to the IRLP reflector 9010. You may also connect via the IRLP Discovery website at http://www.discoveryreflector.ca/listen.htm. EchoLink - The audio from this contact will be available on the EchoLink *AMSAT* (node 101 377) and the *JK1ZRW* (node 277 208) conference rooms. Please connect to the *JK1ZRW* server to keep the load light on the *AMSAT* server. This will ensure good audio quality for all listeners. Students will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. With each supply shipment to the ISS sending more water from Earth, we are taking away a precious resource. A colony on the moon would need lots of water which would be obtained from our finite supply on Earth. Will this water be returned or is it lost forever? 2. With business tycoons like Richard Branson looking to expand their companies into the cosmos via commercialized space travel, has it now been decided that space travel is to become a routine commercial practice? 3. The Canadian Space Agency and NASA are have you testing your hand eye co-ordination on the shuttle. Do you play video games on the ISS as well as doing this experiment? 4. Chris Hadfield was calm when he told us about the Russian Progress 23 cargo ship having difficulties docking with the ISS and the ISS losing power. Are all astronauts that calm when under pressure? 5. What is your favourite song to play on the guitar while on the ISS? 6. Mr. Hadfield told us Russian bread has a four year shelf life. Does it taste the same after 4 years of not being eaten? 7. Your mission has 4 EVA'S. Have you ever stood on the end of Canadarm2? 8. Luke Skywalker fought a spherical droid in Star Wars. Are the two SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites) on the ISS like pets to you? 9. Can you see heaven from the ISS? 10. If you got appendicitis aboard the ISS what can you do about it? 11. You are doing a study related to immune function and virus activity. Has an astronaut or cosmonaut ever fallen ill while aboard the ISS, and if so what health measures were taken? 12. In your personal opinion do you believe that there is or ever was, life on other planets, such as Mars? 13. On the ISS, are there any communication problems between the crew due to language and cultural differences? 14. When the Progress cargo ship was docking, you had a problem with the antenna. ARISS became your mode of communication to Earth. How did you fix the antenna retraction problem? 15. Mr. Hadfield said he brought a guitar to the ISS. Does it go out of tune more in space than Earth? 16. How do you protect yourself from germs with limited amounts of water on the ISS? On Earth we handwash. 17. SPHERES are like Tamagotchis. Do the red and blue ones shut down when you go to bed? 18. When you look out the window of the ISS do you see the planets and which one is your favourite? 19. You 're measuring the exposure of cosmic radiation of your crew. Are you concerned about getting cancer? 20. You are trying to grow lentil seeds in artificial gravity. Have they sprouted? 21. For Mikhail Tyruin. Would a "hole in one" be hitting the (Canadian E21) golf ball into a crater on the moon? Please note, the amateur equipment on the ISS has not been functioning in the automatic modes properly and may be silent more than usual. Information about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact . Next planned event(s): TBD ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries. ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada). Thank you & 73, Kenneth - N5VHO

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ARISS Event - Mannheim Museum, Germany contact, Mon (Nov 20) at 15:57 UTC
by Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] 16 Nov '06

16 Nov '06

An International Space Station Expedition 14 ARISS school contact has been planned with participants at Landesmuseum fuer Technik und Arbeit (Mannheim Museum), Mannheim, Germany on Monday 20 Nov. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:57 UTC. The contact will be a telebridge between stations NA1SS and VK5ZAI. The contact should be audible to anyone in southeastern portions of Australia. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. Additional listening options are listed below. The participants are expected to conduct the conversation in German. IRLP - Connect to the IRLP reflector 9010. You may also connect via the IRLP Discovery website at http://www.discoveryreflector.ca/listen.htm. EchoLink - The audio from this contact will be available on the EchoLink *AMSAT* (node 101 377) and the *JK1ZRW* (node 277 208) conference rooms. Please connect to the *JK1ZRW* server to keep the load light on the *AMSAT* server. This will ensure good audio quality for all listeners. _________________________________ AUDIO STREAMING AND AUDIO REPLAY PARTICIPANT INFORMATION: To join the event: URL: https://e-meetings.mci.com CONFERENCE NUMBER: 2545537 PASSCODE: SPACE STATIO To access the Audio Replay of this call, all parties can: 1. Go to the URL listed above. 2. Choose Audio Streaming under Join Events. 3. Enter the conference number and passcode. (Note that if this is a recurring event, multiple dates may be listed.) Replays are available for 30 days after the live event._________________________________ Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Thomas, du bist auf der ISS, 340 km über der Erdoberfläche. Wenn du jetzt aus dem Fenster guckst, was siehst du da? 2. Wir haben jetzt 17 Uhr, das heißt bei uns auf der Erde in Deutschland haben die meisten Leute bald Feierabend. An welchem Punkt in deinem Tagesablauf bist du denn im Moment, ordne das doch bitte mal für uns ein! . 3. Was machst du, wenn du Feierabend hast? 4. Du bist jetzt gut vier Monate im All. Hattest du auch schon einen Außeneinsatz? 5. Gibt es denn außerhalb der Raumstation überhaupt noch ein bisschen Luft zum Atmen? 6. Vier Monate im All, das heißt eben auch vier Monate schwerelos herumschweben. Da bauen die Muskeln ganz schön ab. Merkst du denn schon, wie das auch an dir zehrt? 7. Welche körperlichen Voraussetzungen muss man denn überhaupt mitbringen, um Astronaut werden zu können? 8. Körperlich bist du also fit. Aber was macht ihr denn, wenn ihr dort oben jetzt Zahnschmerzen bekommt? 9. Gibt es denn auch irgendwelche speziellen Krankheiten, die man nur im All bekommen kann? 10. Hast du darunter gelitten (unter Raumkrankheit)? 11.Was gab es denn heute Mittag bei euch zu essen? 12. Kriegt jeder von euch Drei dasselbe zu essen? 13. Bekommst du denn Heimweh, wenn du ans Essen mit Messer und Gabel denkst? 14. Deine Frau und deine zwei Söhne wirst du wahrscheinlich am meisten vermissen. Konntet ihr denn Kontakt halten während der ganzen Zeit? 15. Im Dezember geht es ja wieder zurück zur Erde. Wie lange braucht ihr denn, um wieder hier unten anzukommen? 16. Für den Flug rauf zur ISS braucht man aber erstaunlich lange. Wieso ist das so? Please note, the amateur equipment on the ISS has not been functioning in the automatic modes properly and may be silent more than usual. Information about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact . Next planned event(s): Centre Hastings Secondary, Madoc, Ontario, Canada, 2006-11-20 16:35 UTC direct via VE3UR ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA, CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from participating countries. ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters' interest in science, technology, and learning. Further information on the ARISS program is available on the website http://www.rac.ca/ariss (graciously hosted by the Radio Amateurs of Canada). Thank you & 73, Kenneth - N5VHO

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-11-16 18:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 16 Nov '06

16 Nov '06

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-11-16 18:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Landesmuseum fuer Technik und Arbeit (Mannheim Museum), Mannheim, Germany Mon 2006-11-20 15:57 UTC via telebridge VK5ZAI Thomas Reiter contact, questions now posted in German and English (***) Watch for live IRLP, Echolink, and webcast. Centre Hastings Secondary, Madoc, Ontario, Canada, direct via VE3UR Mon 2006-11-20 16:35 UTC 75 deg During Expedition 14, ARISS expects to have one ARISS school contact per month rather than approximately one per week. It is also anticipated that there many not be many general contacts. Total number of ARISS school contacts is 256. QSL information may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ARISS/arissfaq.html http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm#QSL's ISS callsigns: DP0ISS, NA1SS, RS0ISS ***************************************************************************** The schedule page has been updated as of 2006-11-16 18:00 UTC. Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2006-11-10 19:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correctio… tf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf ***************************************************************************** There has been a rumor that the ISS was having direct contacts on the 40 meter band. There is no HF radio equipment on board and available yet. The HF antenna is mounted. Sometimes WA3NAN will retransmit shuttle audio. ***************************************************************************** Expedition 13/14 on orbit: Thomas Reiter DF4TR Expedition 14 on orbit: Michael Lopez-Alegria KE5GTK Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT Expedition 14 future: Sunita Williams, KD5PLB ***************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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