[BCVHFA] ARLS005 ISS crew could be on the air for Field Day.

[K8CM]

QST de W1AW
Space Bulletin 005  ARLS005
 >From ARRL Headquarters
Newington, CT  June 16, 2005
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS005
ARLS005 ISS crew could be on the air for Field Day.

International Space Station crew members John Phillips, KE5DRY, and Sergei 
Krikalev, U5MIR, may be on the air for ARRL Field Day, June 25-26. ISS Ham 
Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, at Johnson Space Center, has 
reviewed potential ISS pass times, and he says a few are favorable for US 
stations--although some will occur during the very early morning hours. 
Phillips and Krikalev will use the Amateur Radio on the International Space 
Station (ARISS) radio gear aboard the spacecraft.

''Hams on the ISS will try to be on for ARRL Field Day,'' Ransom 
said.  ''The crew can make contacts anytime during the 1800 UTC June 25 to 
1800 UTC June 26 period as time permits. Most activity will be over North 
and South America, but stations worldwide should be listening.''

Ransom says the pass times are only recommendations, and there is no 
guarantee that either Phillips or Krikalev will actually be on the air 
during any of them. Passes marked by asterisks (*) are recommended as 
desirable ones for voice contacts with Amateur Radio stations on the ground.

      Saturday, June 25
      1826-1834          Hawaii
      1852-1902          Southern Chile  Argentina

      Sunday, June 26
      0743-0804          Canada and NW US
      0847-0901          Central and eastern Australia
      0919-0938          Southern Canada and NE US
      1020-1035          Western Australia
      *1053-1115         Alaska, SW Canada and eastern US*
      *1110-1130         Caribbean, NE South America*
      1211-1223          Eastern Japan
      *1226-1248         Alaska, Western US*
      *1246-1306         Central South America*
      1346-1359          Western Japan
      1428-1442          Central Argentina
      1606-1617          Southern Chile and Argentina
      *1715-1725         Hawaii*

Phillips will operate as NA1SS and handing out ''1 Alfa ISS'' for a report. 
If Expedition 11 Commander Krikalev gets on the air too, he'll identify as 
RS0ISS and give the same exchange. In the past, crew members have operated 
from both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 ARISS stations using 2 meters and 70 cm.

The standard ISS voice frequencies for contacts in ITU Region 2 are 144.49 
MHz up and 145.80 MHz down, FM.

If the astronauts can't get on the air to make voice QSOs, the RS0ISS 
packet station should be on and available for ground stations to work each 
other via the packet digipeater using ''ARISS'' as the alias for the call 
sign in UNPROTO mode. Frequencies are 145.99 MHz up and 145.80 MHz down.

ARRL Contest Branch Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, notes that ISS voice or 
direct packet contacts with the ISS do not count for bonus satellite 
contact points because the ISS is not an ''Amateur Radio satellite as event 
rules specify. Packet contacts relayed via the ISS are valid.

''The ISS contacts do not count for satellite credit, since they are 
point-to-point, whereas the traditional satellite QSO is a relayed 
Earth-satellite-Earth two-way contact,'' he explained. Field Day has no 
specific rules relating to ARISS operation because there's no guarantee 
that the crew will be able to get on the air for the annual exercise.

During Field Day 2004, astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, operated NA1SS on 2 
meters, while Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka, RN3DT, was on the air 
from RS0ISS on 70 cm. Between them, they racked up more than five dozen QSOs.

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