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ARISS Event - City of Ottawa Central Experimental Farm, Canada, Fri (Aug 04) at 13:27
by Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] 03 Aug '06

03 Aug '06

An International Space Station Expedition 13 ARISS school contact has been planned with students at the City of Ottawa Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ontario Canada on Friday, 04 Aug 2006. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 13:27 UTC. The contact will be direct between stations NA1SS and VE3KID. The contact should be audible to anyone in portions of Eastern Canada and the Eastern United States. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The Canada Agriculture Museum in Ottawa is a unique combination farm and museum. The Museum offers animated bilingual interpretation which shows the making and tasting of foods such as ice cream, bread and butter. Other demonstrations present farming activities, including year-round animal care and spring sheep shearing. Visitors to the animal barns will see a collection of common farm animals, as well as several rare breeds. The Museum's Tractors exhibition and the exhibition on rural electrification of one hundred years ago bring the science of the past to life. The Canada Agriculture Museum - Where Knowledge Grows! Students at the Experimental Farm will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What is your function on the Space Station? 2. What is it like flying to the Space Station? 3. How much time have you spent in Space? 4. How do you communicate with family while on the Space Station? 5. How do you deal with fire or medical emergencies? 6. What kinds of fresh foods do you eat or have on the Space Station? 7. What is the most difficult food you have eaten in microgravity? 8. Is it possible to grow food in Space? 9. Do you have Dairy products on board the Space Station? 10. How is food stored on the Space Station? 11. What planet would be the best for farming? 12. Have you seen any hurricanes or other weather systems from the Space Station? 13. What is your favorite farm animal and why? 14. What planet would be the hardest to grow food on? 15. Does food taste differently in space? 16. Do things sound different in space (ex a dog barking)? 17. When you return to Earth, what do you plan to do ? Please note, the amateur equipment on the ISS will be turned off prior to the contact and should remain off until after the space walk on Thursday, June 1 is concluded. It will be returned to regular amateur radio operations as soon as possible afterwards. Information about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact . Next planned event(s): Teven-Tintenbar Public School, Tintenbar, NSW Australia, direct via VK2ZTY Fri 2006-08-11 07:32 UTC 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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SHUTTLE MOVES TO LAUNCH PAD
by Arthur Rowe 02 Aug '06

02 Aug '06

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 Aug. 2, 2006 Katherine Trinidad Headquarters, Washington 202-358-3749 George Diller Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 321-867-2468 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS MOVES TO LAUNCH PAD The Space Shuttle Atlantis arrived at its launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at 8:54 a.m. EDT Wednesday on top of a giant vehicle known as the crawler transporter. After two days of weather delays, the crawler transporter began carrying Atlantis out of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 1:05 a.m. Wednesday. The crawler's maximum speed during the 4.2-mile journey reached 1 mph. While at the pad, the shuttle will undergo final testing, payload installation and a "hot fire" test of auxiliary power units to ensure proper function. When testing is completed, the rotating service structure will be moved around the vehicle to protect it from the elements. The launch window for the Atlantis mission to the International Space Station opens on Sunday, Aug. 27. The mission, designated STS-115, will be the first to perform a major expansion of the station since December 2002. For information about the STS-115 mission and its crew, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle -end-

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PCSAT2 special Operations Event PLAN
by Robert Bruninga 02 Aug '06

02 Aug '06

PCSAT2 SPECIAL EVENT AND OPERATIONS -------------------------------------------------------------- Subj: ISS Packet =>VOICE Contacts: Starting on 4 August, and for the 26 days remaining of PCSAT2's operation on ISS, PCSAT2 will be configured for VOICE response to normal packets transmitted via the normal ISS digipeater 145.99 uplink (or PCSAT2's uplink on 145.825 if the ARISS packet system is not operational). The command station's voice downlink will be on 437.975 +/- Doppler and he/she willl attempt to acknowledge by voice all packets seen on the packet uplink. The UHF downlink will be weak (only 1 Watt) and being UHF (9dB worse than 2m), will need at least a small beam to hear it. Users who want to participate, simply send your packets as normal VIA ARISS on 145.99 uplink (if available or via 145.825 if not) but listen on the 437.925 downlink for the combined voice and packets. This will only work when PCSAT2 is in range of a participating command station and there is no guarantee that all command stations will be available on any given pass. In otherwords, this may be rare, but fun. Right now, passes in the Northern Hemisphere are occuring before sunrise, so only the last two morning passes may be so manned for voice. Passes in the Southern Hemisphere right now are from midday into evening. Best thing to do is simply monitor 437.975 during ISS passes and if you hear a command station, then send us a 'hello' packet via the ISS digipeater. We need a volunteer command station in South America, South Africa and some other footprints too if activity is desired in those areas. de WB4APR US Naval Academy Satellite Station

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-08-02 17:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 02 Aug '06

02 Aug '06

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-08-02 17:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Robinson Elementary, Anderson, Indiana, direct via W9VCF Successful Wed 2006-08-02 14:16 UTC 47 deg (***) City of Ottawa Central Experimental Farm, direct via VE3KID Fri 2006-08-04 13:27 UTC 25 deg Teven-Tintenbar Public School, Tintenbar, NSW Australia, direct via VK2ZTY Fri 2006-08-11 07:32 UTC at 23 deg Total number of ARISS school contacts is 248. (***) 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 2006-08-02 17:00 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 2006-08-02 17:00 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 on orbit Pavel Vinogradov RV3BS Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Expedition 13/14 Thomas Reiter DF4TR Expedition 14 crew: Michael Lopez-Alegria KE5GTK Sunita Williams, KD5PLB Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT ***************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-08-01 23:00 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 01 Aug '06

01 Aug '06

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-08-01 23:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Robinson Elementary, Anderson, Indiana, direct via W9VCF Wed 2006-08-02 14:16 UTC 47 deg Watch for IRLP and Echolink coverage. City of Ottawa Central Experimental Farm, direct via VE3KID Fri 2006-08-04 13:27 UTC 25 deg Teven-Tintenbar Public School, Tintenbar, NSW Australia, direct via VK2ZTY Fri 2006-08-11 07:32 UTC at 23 deg Total number of ARISS school contacts is 247. 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 2006-08-01 23:00 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 2006-07-30 21:30 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 on orbit Pavel Vinogradov RV3BS Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Expedition 13/14 Thomas Reiter DF4TR Expedition 14 crew: Michael Lopez-Alegria KE5GTK Sunita Williams, KD5PLB Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT ***************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Fw: HSFNEWS Digest - 29 Jul 2006 to 1 Aug 2006 (#2006-91)
by Ken Chaffee, WA1QXR 01 Aug '06

01 Aug '06

73, Ken Chaffee, WA1QXR AMSAT Life Member # 472 ----- Original Message ----- From: "HSFNEWS automatic digest system" <LISTSERV(a)JSC-LISTSERV-01.JSC.NASA.GOV> To: <HSFNEWS(a)JSC-LISTSERV-01.JSC.NASA.GOV> Sent: Tuesday, 01 August, 2006 07:00 Subject: HSFNEWS Digest - 29 Jul 2006 to 1 Aug 2006 (#2006-91) > There is 1 message totalling 55 lines in this issue. > > Topics of the day: > > 1. HAMMING IT UP WITH SPACE STATION EARNS RANSOM TOP ASTRONAUT AWARD > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 15:16:18 -0500 > From: info(a)JSC.NASA.GOV > Subject: HAMMING IT UP WITH SPACE STATION EARNS RANSOM TOP ASTRONAUT AWARD > > July 31, 2006 > > Brandi Dean > Johnson Space Center, Houston > (281) 483-5111 > > > > Report #JO06-008 > > HAMMING IT UP WITH SPACE STATION EARNS RANSOM TOP ASTRONAUT AWARD > > In the world of ham radio, just making contact with someone from each of the 50 states is an award-worthy feat. > > But NASA engineer Kenneth G. Ransom helped the International Space Station crew take the distinction a little farther – about 220 miles straight up, to be exact. And it earned him a somewhat more unusual award: NASA’s prestigious Silver Snoopy. > > Ransom is the International Space Station program’s Ham Radio Project Engineer. One of the program’s main goals is to provide schoolchildren a chance to talk with astronauts via ham radios. In coordinating this for the station’s Expedition 12 commander, Bill McArthur, Ransom realized that McArthur had already talked to people in 25 states. > > His next thought was, ‘Why stop there?’ Pretty soon, he was lining up contacts for McArthur in the other 25. > > “It was an, ‘I know a friend who knows a friend who knows a friend’ sort of thing,” Ransom explained. “There are a lot of folks eager to talk to an astronaut.” > > And the feeling was mutual. > > “Different crews do different things as pastimes,” Ransom said. “Bill enjoyed talking on the radio. It gave him someone else to talk to besides CAPCOM, the voice of mission control.” > > By the end of the mission, McArthur had talked with people in Somalia, the Vatican and even Antarctica. He made more than 1,800 contacts in more than 90 countries on all seven continents, and at least one in all 50 states. He was the first person to reach all 50 states from space, and he contacted a record-breaking 37 schools in the process. > > But he couldn’t have done it without Ransom’s help – and to show his gratitude, McArthur recently presented Ransom with a Silver Snoopy Award. The Silver Snoopy, a silver lapel pin featuring the Peanuts comic strip character Snoopy in a spacesuit, is given by NASA's Astronaut Office to those who have significantly enhanced the space agency's goals for the human exploration and development of space. Less than one percent of the space program workforce receives it annually. > > “None of that would have been possible without the work Kenneth did,” McArthur said. “He alerted radio operators in some pretty obscure places – places that rarely have contact with the space program.” > > Of course, Ransom never expected to have contact with the space program, either. After graduating from Denison High School in 1980, Ransom went on to Baylor University, where he earned journalism and master of environmental studies degrees in 1987 and 2003, respectively. But when he moved to Houston with his wife, Beth, he happened upon an advertisement for what he now calls his dream job. He gave up plans to work with computers, and instead pursued a career in what had been a hobby – ham radios. > > “I think it’s the greatest job in the world,” he said. “I’m sure the astronauts would disagree, but to each his own.” > > For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: > > http://www.nasa.gov/home > > To learn more about the ham radio on the International Space Station, visit: > > http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/ > > > ### > > NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Status Reports and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to listserv(a)listserver.jsc.nasa.gov. In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe hsfnews" (no quotes). This will add the e-mail address that sent the subscribe message to the news release distribution list. The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription. Once you have subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail. To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to listserv(a)listserver.jsc.nasa.gov with the following command in the body of your e-mail message: "unsubscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) or from another account, besides the account used to subscribe: "unsubscribe hsfnews youremail(a)yourdomain.com" (no quotes). > > ------------------------------ > > End of HSFNEWS Digest - 29 Jul 2006 to 1 Aug 2006 (#2006-91) > ************************************************************

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-07-30 21:30 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 30 Jul '06

30 Jul '06

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2006-07-30 21:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: ESA Event Patras, Greece, telebridge via WH6PN Successful Sat 2006-07-29 12:27 UTC at 19 deg (***) Robinson Elementary, Anderson, Indiana, direct via W9VCF Wed 2006-08-02 14:16 UTC 47 deg Watch for IRLP coverage. City of Ottawa Central Experimental Farm, direct via VE3KID Fri 2006-08-04 13:27 UTC 25 deg Teven-Tintenbar Public School, Tintenbar, NSW Australia, direct via VK2ZTY Fri 2006-08-11 07:32 UTC at 23 deg Total number of ARISS school contacts is 247. (***) 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 2006-07-30 21:30 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 2006-07-30 21:30 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 on orbit Pavel Vinogradov RV3BS Jeff Williams KD5TVQ Expedition 13/14 Thomas Reiter DF4TR The STS-121 crew has returned to earth. Congratulations to Commander Steven Lindsey; Pilot Mark Kelly; mission specialists Stephanie Wilson, KD5DZE, Lisa Nowak, KC5ZTB; Michael Fossum and Piers Sellers. (***) Expedition 14 crew: Michael Lopez-Alegria KE5GTK Sunita Williams, KD5PLB Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT ***************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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(no subject)
by Dieter Haffner 30 Jul '06

30 Jul '06

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ISS STATUS REPORT #06-35
by Arthur Rowe 29 Jul '06

29 Jul '06

*International Space Station Status Report #06-35* *3 p.m. CDT, Friday, July 28, 2006 * *Expedition 13 Crew* The International Space Station's Expedition 13 crew members are a week away from their first U.S. spacewalk. They spent much of this week preparing themselves and their gear, and they activated a new laboratory super deep-freezer. Astronauts Jeff Williams and Thomas Reiter will leave the station's Quest airlock hatch at 9:55 a.m. EDT Thursday, Aug. 3, for a spacewalk that is scheduled for six hours and 20 minutes. Station Commander Pavel Vinogradov will serve as the spacewalk choreographer from inside the complex. NASA TV coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 9 a.m. EDT. Williams and Reiter are both experienced spacewalkers. They will install a device to measure the electrical field around the station's exterior; replace a rotary joint motor controller and a computer for the radiator on the station's truss; deploy two experiments that expose samples of various materials to space for extended periods; and install various other hardware on the station. To get ready, the crew prepared spacesuits and tools, conducted a dry run of egress and ingress procedures, and moved the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm into position. The arm's cameras will provide television views of the spacewalk. This week the crew also began operations of the new Minus Eighty-degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS. The equipment can reach temperatures as low as minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit. Provided by the European Space Agency, the freezer was delivered on shuttle mission STS-121 earlier this month and is installed in the Destiny laboratory. It has 300 liters of freezing and storage capacity in four compartments for experiment samples to preserve them for return to Earth. On Tuesday, Russian flight controllers fired thrusters on the Progress supply ship docked to the aft end of the station to boost the station's altitude. They raised the complex to an orbit of 219 by 203 statute miles. The adjustment optimizes conditions for a docking by the Space Shuttle Atlantis, targeted for a launch window that begins Aug. 27, and by the station's next crew, Expedition 14, set for launch in mid-September on a Russian Soyuz rocket. The next station status report will be issued on Thursday, Aug. 3, following 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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SSTV Ready for limited Testing
by MM 29 Jul '06

29 Jul '06

ISS Amateur Radio Status: July 28, 2006 SpaceCam1 Slow Scan TV project for ISS, Update By Miles Mann WF1F, MAREX-NA News Manned Amateur Radio Experiment, North American Division SpaceCam1 Slow Scan TV project for ISS, Update During this weeks ARISS meeting with the engineers at the Russian Space Agency, it was announced that ISS Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov,, may have some time to start testing Slow Scan TV from the International Space Station. http://www.arrl.org/?artid=6627 This testing may be very limited. It is not know when the Project will be officially opened to the world wide public. The tentative down link for SSTV will be on 144.490 FM. The uplink will not be published until testing has been completed. SpaceCam1: The MAREXMG / ARISS SpaceCam1 SSTV System is an entry-level PC based Slow Scan Television system designed to be used on board the International Space Station. This system will support multiple common SSTV transmission modes. SpaceCam1 has been specifically designed to be accessible to as many Amateur Radio stations as possible around the world. The original proof-of-concept system was built by the MAREX-NA team and successfully flown on the Russian Space Station Mir (December 1998 until August 1999). The proof-of-concept system has proven the ability of the hardware design and it has taught us how to make additional improvements for the next generation SSTV system for ISS. http://www.marexmg.org/marexmirweb/fileshtml/galleryimagepage1.htm In January 2001 the SpaceCam1 the ARISS program accepted project at one of the future Amateur Radio projects for the International Space Station. http://www.marexmg.org/ The SpaceCam1 software has been under development since 1999 and is being created by the SiliconPixels team managed by Jim Barber (N7CXI). http://www.barberdsp.com/spmain.htm The ARISS Hardware Manager Lou McFadin (W5DID) was assigned the task of building an Audio interface box for the SpaceCam1 project. The Audio interface box will allow the audio from a standard Laptop PC to be plugged into the existing Amateur Radio station on ISS. When will SpaceCam1 fly? In October 2005 the last component needed for SpaceCam1 arrived on ISS. All of the required Hardware and software is currently on ISS. The initial big problem was locating a computer on ISS to use for this project. All of the existing laptops on ISS were considered mission critical computers. Recently a computer was released to Amateur Radio usage, and the software packages have been loaded. We are now just waiting for the ISS crew to be giving permission to start testing the SSTV applications. SpaceCam1 FAQ: http://www.marexmg.org/spacecam/spacecam.html Will I be able to receive images from SpaceCam1? Yes! SpaceCam1 will transmit and receive images on amateur radio frequencies, using standard SSTV formats. Although SpaceCam1 is capable of operating in several modes, the standard format will be Robot 36. This format offers the best standard compromise between image quality and transmission time. In addition to two-way "interactive" operation, SpaceCam1 provides the following fully automatic functions: Transmission from a live camera or disk at specified intervals Slide Show" operation from a set of images stored on the system SSTV Repeater What equipment will I need to receive the images? Radio receiver with an outdoor antenna. The radio receive will need to be able to receive FM signals in the Amateur Radio satellite band (ITU 144.000 146.000 MHz) A PC with SSTV software or a dedicated SSTV scan converter. http://www.marexmg.org/fileshtml/sstvlinkpage.html Tracking software (optional, although it helps a lot!) Take care all and good luck and please be courteous. 73 Miles WF1F MAREX-NA www.marexmg.org Until we meet again DOSVIDANIYA Miles WF1F __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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