[NJARC] 146 MHz FM transmission from a space suit

[David R Sica]

Saw this in the newspaper today. This may be the first documented case of
anyone actually wanting to listen to an "empty suit." Maybe someone can
listen in and report to the club?

--Dave
 
CAPE CANAVERAL, Ma. - The crew of the International Space Station shoved
an unmanned spacesuit stuffed with discarded clothing and radio equipment
out the door yesterday, creating a ghostly scene that resembled a
cosmonaut tumbling away from the orbiting outpost.

Complete with helmet and gloves, the spacesuit floated past the Russian
section of the space station, 220 miles above Earth, before rotating away
feet first and beginning its orbit around the globe.
 
"Goodbye, Mr. Smith," flight engineer Valery Tokarev said in Russian,
giving the figure the generic nickname "Ivan Ivanovich" as he and U.S.
commander Bill McArthur began a six-hour spacewalk to perform maintenance
and photography tasks.
 
The Russian suit was equipped with a radio transmitter that will send
recorded messages in six languages to amateur radio operators for several
days before eventually re-entering Earth's atmosphere and burning up,
NASA officials said.
 
The spacesuit project, known as SuitSat-1, was the brainchild of a
Russian ham radio operator. It will send several words in code for
schoolchildren listening on the ground. Radio operators will be able to
pick up the messages for several days by tuning in to FM frequency
145.990 MHz.
Along with the radio transmitter, the stuffed spacesuit also has internal
sensors to monitor temperature and battery power. As it floats along, it
will transmit its temperature, battery power and time it has been in
space to the ground. The suit was expected to pass over the U.S. between
midnight and 4 a.m. according to NASA.
 
A third of the way into yesterday's space-walk, McArthur asked NASA's
Johnson Space Center whether anyone had picked up signals from the
spacesuit.
 
"We're hearing that Japan has been listening to Ivan Ivanovich," said
NASA spacecraft communicator Mike Foale, who once wore the spacesuit
during a 2004 spacewalk. McArthur responded, "Really? Well, that's
outstanding!"