[Adrian ARC] Info on SuitSat

[Lowell S.]

Relay by
Kc8jjt


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-022.07
Get Ready For SuitSat

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 022.07
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 22, 2006
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-022.07

Miles, WF1F sends the following International Space Station ARISS
SuitSat Project Status Report.

ARISS to activate a new hand launched educational satellite project from
the International Space station.  The new educational experiment is called
SuitSat.  The SuitSat project is onboard the International Space Station
and is being prepared for activation very soon.  The SuitSat project has a
tentative activation date of February 3, 2006.  The SuitSat activation will
take place during the ISS crew space walk. SuitSat will be a hand launched
by the ISS crew during their early February SpaceWalk.

Since we have determined that the batteries in SuitSast may last only a
few days, it is suggested that radio amateurs prepare now to receive the
first transmissions so as not to miss out on this Historical event!
The current expected life of the SuitSat project is approximately 2 to 6
days.  If you delay in setting up your station you may miss out on this
educational experiment.

What is SuitSat:
In short, the crew will toss an Old spacesuit out the airlock and let it
fly away as its own satellite.  The Space Station crew have attached an
Amateur Radio beacon transmitter to the spacesuit.  The SuitSat project
will broadcast telemetry and voice messages to earth for as long as the
batteries last.  There are no solar cells on this satellite.

Anyone with a simple FM receiver or VHF police scanner should be able to
hear the signals from SuitSat on 145.99 MHz as it orbits around the earth
15 times a day.

Voice Telemetry:
The SuitSat project will be transmitting on 145.990 MHz FM and will
consist of Voice Telemetry, giving Mission Time, Suit Temperature and
Battery Voltage, Voice Greeting messages in multiple languages, and an
SSTV image using Robot 36 format.  This entire transmission cycle will
repeat every 9 minutes until the batteries discharge.

SuitSat Transmitter:
The SuitSat transmitter is a Kenwood TH-K2, a small hand held radio, which
will transmit a 1 watt FM signal from SuitSat on 145.990 MHz FM Downlink
only.  There is no uplink for this satellite.

The ARISS team is also planning on using the Kenwood D700 transceiver aboard
the ISS to rebroadcast the SuitSat signal on 437.800 MHz FM.  This will
allow you to hear SuitSat while ISS is in range of your station.

For more specific details on the SuitSat project, please review the AMSAT
and related links below.

AMSAT SuitSat information:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/SuitSat/

ARISS SuitSat Details:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/BauerSuitsat/index.php

ARISS video on SuitSat September 2005
mms://media.wmfd.com/amsat/SuitSat.wmv

[ANS thanks Miles, WF1F for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-022.08
NASA Prepares For February 3 Spacewalk

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 022.08
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 22, 2006
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-022.08

NASA is hosting a preview session about the next spacewalk by the
International Space Station Expedition 12 crew at 2 p.m. EST, Friday,
January 27 from NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. The event airs
live on NASA TV with questions from media at participating agency locations.

The spacewalk by station Commander Bill McArthur and Flight Engineer
Valery Tokarev is Feb. 3. It airs live on NASA TV with coverage
starting at 4:30 p.m. EST. The six-hour spacewalk starts at 5:20 p.m.
EST. (SuitSat is likely to be released during this spacewalk.)

For digital downlink information and access to NASA TV's Public Channel
on the Web in RealPlayer, RealAudio, or Windows Media Player, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]