[HARC] ANS Special Bulletin ARISSat-1 Activation Aboard ISS Begins April 11

[Wa3pzo at aol.com]

ANS Special Bulletin ARISSat-1 Activation Aboard ISS Begins April 11  
 
 
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-098.01
ANS  Special Bulletin ARISSat-1 Activation Aboard ISS Begins April 11

AMSAT  News Service Bulletin 098.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 8,  2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-098.01

SILVER SPRING,  MARYLAND (AMSAT News Service) While awaiting 
deployment from the  International Space Station (ISS) in late 
July, an amateur radio satellite  specifically designed to in-
terest students in scientific and  technological careers will 
be activated and begin transmissions from the  ISS in mid-April 
of this year. 

Transmissions are scheduled to  begin Monday around 14:30 UTC 
April 11 and ending Wednesday around 10:30  UTC on April 13. 
Electronic certificates of the event will be available to  those 
summitting reception reports to: _Gagarin at arissat1.org_ 
(mailto:Gagarin at arissat1.org) .

These  transmissions will commemorate 50 years since the flight 
of Russian  Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin as the first human to enter 
outer space. The  satellite (called ARISSat-1, RadioSkaf-V) will 
send telemetry, SSTV  images, and messages of goodwill as it 
orbits earth inside the ISS.  

ARISSat-1 is a cooperative effort between AMSAT, ARISS (Amateur  
Radio on the International Space Station,) RSC-Energia (The Russian  
Space Agency) and NASA. The design, development and construction 
of  the satellite was done by AMSAT volunteers. Original plans call-
ed for the  satellite to be housed inside an old Russian spacesuit. 
But when the suit  became unavailable, a spaceframe was developed 
to house the radio  equipment and solar panels. The new satellite 
was named ARISSat-1. Other  names for the spacecraft are RadioSkaf-V 
and Kedr. The transmitted  callsign will be RS01S.

In order to operate inside the ISS, ARISSat-1  will be connected to 
an external amateur radio antenna already mounted on  the outer sur-
face of the space station. The craft will use its own  battery for 
operation, therefore it will be in low power mode. As a  result, 
listeners can expect 40-60 second "ON" periods followed by  two-minute 
"OFF" periods to save battery power. 

To listen for  ARISSat-1 voice signals during this special event, FM 
receivers should be  tuned to 145.950 MHz. Specific only to this event, 
planning is currently  underway to provide an additional FM broadcast 
downlink at 437.550 MHz.  Even though the satellite will only have an 
output of 250 mW on 2 meters,  a standard FM handy talkie equipped with 
a quarter-wave whip antenna  should be able to receive the voice ID, 
voice telemetry and greeting  messages as the craft passes overhead. 
SSTV transmissions may also be  demodulated and viewed using a free 
downloadable program such as MMSSTV  that is available at: 
_http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca/pages/mmsstv.php_ 
(http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca/pages/mmsstv.php) . 
For  Mac users, Multiscan2 is available at: 
_http://web.me.com/kd6cji/MacSSTV/MultiScan.html_ 
(http://web.me.com/kd6cji/MacSSTV/MultiScan.html) .

Those  planning to monitor voice broadcasts from ARISSat-1 are request-
ed to make  note of the telemetry battery voltage values and UTC time, 
and then submit  their records to _Gagarin at arissat1.org_ 
(mailto:Gagarin at arissat1.org) . Digital  tele-
metry will be sent at 145.920 MHz. Given the low duty cycle of the  
spacecraft, those planning to receive the digital telemetry are  en-
couraged to record the entire signal band using the FunCube dongle  
or SDR-IQ receivers.

Software for demodulating the BPSK-1000  telemetry is available at:
_http://www.arissattlm.org/download/A..._050_Setup.exe_ 
(http://www.arissattlm.org/download/ARISSatTLM_050_Setup.exe) 
A  software user guide will be available soon.

This special period of  operation is only expected to continue during 
the two-day 50 year  commemoration of Gagarin's famous mission. 

The actual deployment of  ARISSat-1, first announced for February 2011, 
is now expected to take  place during an EVA scheduled for late July, 
2011. After it is deployed  from the International Space Station, 
ARISSat-1 is expected to be in orbit  for a period of up to six months.

More information on the transmission  schedule and overall mission of 
ARISSat-1 can be found  at:

ARISSat-1 Web site: _http://www.arissat1.org_ (http://www.arissat1.org)  
AMSAT Web site: _http://www.amsat.org_ (http://www.amsat.org)  
ARISS  Web site: _http://www.ariss.org_ (http://www.ariss.org)  
ARISS Facebook Page: Amateur Radio  on the ISS (ARISS)
ARISS Twitter site: @ARISS_status

The Radio  Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) is a non-profit, 
volunteer  organization which designs, builds and operates experi-
mental amateur  radio satellites and promotes space education. We 
work in partnership with  government, industry, educational instit-
utions and fellow amateur radio  societies. We encourage technical 
and scientific innovation, and promote  the training and development 
of skilled satellite and ground system  designers and operators. Our 
vision is to deploy satellite systems with  the goal of providing 
wide area and continuous coverage for amateur radio  operators world-
wide. AMSAT is also an active participant in human space  missions 
and supports satellites developed in cooperation with the  educational 
community and other amateur satellite groups.

Amateur  Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a volun-
teer program  which inspires students, worldwide, to pursue careers 
in science,  technology, engineering and math through amateur radio 
communications  opportunities with the International Space Station 
on-orbit crew. Students  learn about life on board the ISS and explore 
Earth from space through  science and math activities. ARISS provides 
opportunities for the school  community (students, teachers, families 
and local residents) to become  more aware of the substantial benefits 
of human space flight and the  exploration and discovery that occur on 
space flight journeys along with  learning about technology and amateur 
radio.

[ANS thanks the  ARISSat-1 Team for the above information]

/EX