Blog (Page 4)

ISS SSTV Verification Test – Oct 27-Nov 1

The SSTV system in the Service Module will be activated to attempt to verify a replacement piece of hardware during the period of Oct 27 until Nov 01.

The system will be off around the required period of no transmissions during the planned EVA on Oct 31. Images will be transmitted on 145.800 MHz and in the typical PD120 format.

There are 2 windows for testing, separated by an EVA:
Fri Oct 27 at 12:15 GMT – Sun Oct 29 at 18:50 GMT
Tue Oct 31 at 10:05 GMT – Wed Nov 01 at 18:10 GMT

Your images can be posted to the Gallery at https://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php

Since this is a test of replacement components of the system, there still may be unexpected outages or issues.

The signal should be receivable on a handheld with a 1/4 wave whip. If your rig has selectable FM filters try the wider filter for 25 kHz channel spacing.

You can get predictions for the ISS pass times at https://www.amsat.org/track/

ARISS SSTV Blog https://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/

Useful SSTV info and links https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/iss-sstv/

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Kent school students to contact ISS astronaut

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and students at St Peter Junior School in Broadstairs, UK. ARISS conducts 60-80 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

St Peter is a three form entry junior school located in Broadstairs, a small seaside town on the South East coast of England. St Peter’s students (ages 7 – 11) have been taking part in activities in ‘Mission Zero’ where they write a program to display a personalized image on an Astro Pi computer on board the ISS to remind the astronauts of home.

Students have also been taking part in the FUNcube project (tracking an active LEO Satellite – FUNcube-1/AO-73), and participating in a community stargazing event assisted by members of Ramsgate Stargazers. The school’s science club has also engaged students in space-related activities that include learning the difficulties of traveling to space, designing and launching rockets (using water and air), and living on the ISS (and designing solutions that may help overcome these difficulties). Members of the Hilderstone Radio Society (G0HRS) have been fundamental in advising and supporting the school during these activities and during this ARISS contact.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio and students will take turns asking their questions of Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, amateur radio call sign KI5WSL. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the relay ground station.

The amateur radio ground station for this contact is in Broadstairs, UK. Amateur radio operators using call sign GB4SPT, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for October 18, 2023 at 10:57:49 am BST (UK) (9:57:49 UTC, 5:57 am EDT, 4:57 am CDT, 3:57 am MDT, 2:57 am PDT).

The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://live.ariss.org

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1240-1300 MHz – ITU-R WP5A fails to achieve consensus

The Chair of IARU Region 1 Spectrum and Regulatory Liaison Committee, Barry Lewis G4SJH, writes on the IARU-R1 site that ITU‑R WP5A meeting #30 could not achieve consensus on the measures needed to protect the RNSS in the amateur 23cm band (1240-1300 MHz), (Relating to WRC-23 AI 9.1b)

Working Party 5A meeting #30 met over the period 13th to 22nd September 2023 and despite extra meeting time allocated specifically to the development of the ITU‑R Recommendation M.[AS_GUIDANCE] the meeting did not reach a consensus on the technical and operational measures required to ensure the protection of the RNSS (radio navigation satellite service) in the amateur 23cm band. The measures aim to identify parts of the frequency band with associated amateur transmitter power limits that can help protect the RNSS operations. By the close of the meeting three alternative solutions remained unresolved in the draft document.

This outcome was reported to the WP5A plenary meeting and the subsequent parent Study Group 5 meeting but despite further efforts still no outcome could be achieved. Since the recommendation will be important for WRC-23 discussions it is expected that further efforts will continue to try to find a solution.

On a positive note the Draft New Report ITU‑R M. [AS_CHARACTERISTICS] was finalised by WP5A an approved in Study Group 5.

The IARU report from the WP5A meeting can be downloaded here
https://www.iaru.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Report-from-WP5A_Sept-2023.pdf

The ITU-R WP5A Meeting Report can be downloaded from
https://itu.int/md/R19-WP5A/new/en
Word Doc https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/md/19/wp5a/c/R19-WP5A-C-0837!!MSW-E.docx

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BATC to Webstream AMSAT-UK Colloquium

Volunteers from the British Amateur Radio Club (BATC) will be providing a live stream of the presentations from the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium which takes place as part of the RSGB Convention on October 14-15.

BATC volunteers have been recording and streaming the Colloquium for over 11 years.

Watch the AMSAT-UK Colloquium presentations on Saturday from 09:30-16:45 BST and on Sunday from 09:30-15:15 BST (GMT +1) at
https://batc.org.uk/live/amsatuk2023

The AMSAT-UK talks are in Lecture Room 5 and PDF’s of the talk schedule can be downloaded from the RSGB site at https://rsgb.org/main/rsgb-2023-convention/2023-convention-lectures/

Further information on the BATC is available at http://batc.org.uk/

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ISS contact with Technological University Dublin students

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and students at the Technological University in Dublin, Ireland. ARISS conducts 60-80 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS.

Technological University Dublin is a large technological university with more than 28,000 students across its five campuses. TU Dublin is a leader in STEM disciplines (with 18% of their students enrolled in STEM and 25% in apprenticeships) and also provides studies in business, media, culinary arts, and the creative and performing arts. In 2022, TU Dublin provided 300 students between the ages of 8 and 11 years the opportunity to participate in a special STEM program, composed of five, space-themed workshops (STEM Try Five program). The school also collaborated with Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, the Dunsink Observatory and the Irish Rocketry Association in order to provide a series of space-centered student activities.

With this ARISS contact, the school also hopes to rejuvenate the hobby of radio experimentation, to highlight the relevance of radio communication and its very important applications in day-to-day life. Members of two amateur radio organizations, North Dublin Radio, and the Irish Radio Transmitter Society, are supporting the school for this ARISS contact by providing technical expertise, equipment, and ham radio activities.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask their questions of Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, amateur radio call sign KI5WSL. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the relay ground station.

The amateur radio ground station for this contact is in Dublin, Ireland. Amateur radio operators using call sign EI1ISS, will operate the ground station to establish and maintain the ISS connection.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for October 6, 2023 at 2:11:32 pm IST (Ireland) (13:11:32 UTC, 9:11 am EDT, 8:11 am CDT, 7:11 am MDT, 6:11 am PDT).

The public is invited to watch the live stream at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E8wZd2gBoo

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. How long does it take to train to become an astronaut?

2. How does it feel to take off into space?

3. How do you contact your family?

4. Does the International Space Station break down often?

5. Do you feel stress or anxiety when you are in outer space?

6. How do you know when it is morning and night time?

7. Do you dream differently in space?

8. How does returning from space affect your body?

9. How do you get a haircut in space?

10. What skills do you need to go into space?

11. How do you keep your food fresh?

12. Is it difficult to move in zero gravity?

13. What is the scariest part of being an astronaut?

14. Could you bring your pet with you to the Space Station?

15. Is it difficult to wear your space suit?

16. What made you want to become an astronaut?

17. What is, in your opinion, the best and worst food on the space station?

18. What do you do in your free time?

19. During launch, where does the first stage end up?

20. How long does a typical EVA last?

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN) and the ISS National Lab—Space Station Explorers. The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio.
For more information, see http://www.ariss.org/

 

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