Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

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Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

• Challenger Learning Center 2008 Annual Conference
• August 27, 2008

John Nickel, wd5eev_at_cox.net Keith D. Pugh,
w5iu_at_amsat.org Frank H. Bauer, ka3hdo_at_amsat.org
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Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS)

• What is ARISS?
• International program that inspires students,
  worldwide, to pursue careers in science,
  engineering and mathematics through communication
  with the ISS on-orbit crew via amateur radio
• Local community drawn into this
  once-in-a-lifetime human spaceflight pursuit
• Provides an experiment platform for new
  telecommunications techniques
• Promotes interest in the amateur radio (ham
  radio) hobby as a link to better engage students
  in science and math

ARISS development, operations and student
mentoring is performed almost exclusively by a
world-wide network of amateur radio volunteers
who are passionately committed to the above
objectives
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ARISS USA Organization
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ARISS Capabilities Impact

• FGB-mounted 2 m Ericsson radio for voice packet
• Operational less than 2 weeks after first crew
  arrival making ARISS the first payload on ISS
• Developed 4 multi-band antenna systems mounted
  on the periphery of the Russian service module
• Developed and installed antennas on European
  Columbus Module
• Installed UHF/VHF Kenwood D-700E in Service
  Module, near the dinner table and window
• Successful completion of 357 schools
• 17 consecutive ISS expedition crews used our
  radio system to conduct thousands of contacts
  with hams on the ground since November 2000
• Over 15,000 students touched each year
• Millions, worldwide have heard an ARISS
  connection
• Millions, worldwide see ARISS contacts on ISS
  IMAX film
• Witnessing students, worldwide, become scientists
  and engineers as a direct result of the ARISS
  connection
• The first Spacesuit satelliteSuitSat-1/Radioskaf
  deployed from ISS SuitSat-2 on the horizon.

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School Contacts Per Year
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Crew School Contact Statistics
Top 5 expedition school contacts 1) Exp 1539
2) Exp 1238 3) Exp 1425 4) Exp 1023 5)
Exp  322
Top 5 individual school contact counts for a
single tour 1) Bill McArthur 37Exp 12 2)
Suni Williams 33Exp 14/15 3) Leroy Chiao
23Exp 10 4) Frank Culbertson 22Exp 3 5)
Clay Anderson 21Exp 15/16
Suni Williams KD5PLD
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Recent Contact Space Day, May 3, 2008 Air
Space Museum
Astronaut Lee Morin Prepares the Students for
the ARISS Contact
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Observations Expectations

• Recent Past
• Some crews have been very prolific in performing
  school contacts (Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, Suni
  Williams, KD5PLD, Clay Anderson, KD5PLA)
• General contacts sporadic dependent upon crew
  interest
• High crew workload resulting in no school or
  general contacts during most of Expedition 16
• Install and c/o US Harmony Node
• Install and c/o European Columbus Module
• Install and c/o Japanese Kibo Module
• 3 Shuttle flights
• 2 Soyuz flights
• Inaugural ATV (Europe Automated Transfer Vehicle)
  flight
• Present
• School contacts resume during Expedition 17
• Near Future
• Mike Finke and Richard Garriott operations on ISS
  should include a significant number of general
  contacts, school contacts, SSTV and special ops
• Mid-2009 change to crew of 6 could change ops
  dynamics
• Many more schools and general contacts??

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Expedition Schedule
No Schools
School Contacts Resume
Indicates planning dates. Subject to change
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ARISS Future Opportunities
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2008 Space Flight ParticipantRichard Garriott

• Proposed ARISS Activities
• Earth-view SSTV downlinksup to 50 Earth views
  per day
• School contacts8 Challenger Centers, 2
  international and 2 domestic
• Owen Garriott, W5LFL, 25th anniversary
  commemorative ham contacts

Richard Garriott W5KWQ
Planned Launch12 Oct 2008
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Mike Finke on ISSExpedition 18

• Expectations
• Numerous school contacts (up to 2-3 per week)
• Voice contacts and voice repeater operations
• Re-programming of Kenwood D700
• SSTV operations
• Ericsson radio checkout
• Owen Garriott, W5LFL, 25th anniversary
  commemorative ham contacts

Mike Finke, KE5AIT with the Phase 1 Ericsson Radio
Expedition 18 Schedule October 2008-April 2009
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SuitSat-1--Amateur Radio Extra Vehicular Activity
(EVA) In a Space Suit

• 2-week battery-operated satellite station
• Capabilities
• International Student Message Downlink
• SSTV Picture
• Telemetry
• School SpacewalkDVD with school name, artwork
  and student names included
• Deployment Feb 3, 2006
• Re-entry Sept 7, 2006

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SuitSat Future

• Design work underway for SuitSat-2
• Expected shipment to Russia 2009
• Expanded educational outreach
• DVD with student pictures
• Student audio downlinks
• Pre-developed lesson plans (3 levels)
• College students supporting hardware/software
  development
• Hardware design features
• Proven SuitSat-1 safety interlock
• Software Defined Transponder (SDX) system (RF
  DSP)
• New transmitter, receiver antenna system
• Solar arrays from NASA SMEX-Lite project
• Additional sensors
• SSTV with up to 4 cameras for SSTV downlink
• Up to 4 experiment ports

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Maricopa, Arizona Scouts Participate in SuitSat-2
DevelopmentSeptember 13, 2007
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STUDENT PROJECTS
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SUITSAT-2 DISCUSSIONS
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Contact Options

• Direct
• Telebridge

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Current Telebridge Stations
New VE4NSA Bridge Station
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Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)
IRLP, Echolink and Internet Streaming Provides a
Wider Reach to Schools and Ham Radio Operators
Echolink AMSAT and EDU_NET Servers
IRLP 9010 "Discovery" Reflector
www.amsat.org Calendar of Events
www.discoveryreflector.ca
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Application Process

• Direct or Telebridge Contact
• Complete application education proposal
• For USA - Email to ARISS_at_arrl.org
• Confirming email returned
• Approximately 6 months before contact an ARISS
  mentor will be assigned
• The ARISS mentor will guide you through the
  contact preparations

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Student - Question Preparation

• Select 12 students for contact
• - Articulate students
• - Ability to amplify voice
• Select 24 questions for contact
• - All 12 students ask first 12 questions,
  repeat students in order for second 12
  questions
• Questions should be short, clear and concise.
  Avoid long, complex and philosophic questions.
• Several dry runs should be performed so
  students are comfortable with their questions and
  projecting their voice into the microphone.

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Primary Reasons for Unsuccessful
Contacts(Current contact success rate 95)

• ISS Crew engrossed in primary mission issue
• School group made an operations (frequency or
  antenna pointing) error
• Hardware failure at the school with no backup
  capability

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The Key to Success

• Careful planning and preparation
• Minimize technical overhead
• Keep set up as simple as possible while using
  adequate link margins
• Provide redundancy and always have a back up plan
• Practice, practice, practice

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ARISS Information
http//www.rac.ca/ariss http//www.ariss.org