Members of the Group:
1. Task, or Objectives, of the Committee
Director's Workbook, Section 5.7-G
2. References
Minute 25 of the 1994 Second Meeting
3. Summary
In July a final build-up began for the first Amateur Radio communications from the International Space Station (ARISS). Four years ago, SAREX took the lead in organizing ARISS to build and operate Amateur Radio on the International Space Station. The station now is on the air! In early December, the ARISS international team met at Goddard Space Flight Center to pin down rules, and finalize plans for operating the ARISS station now and into the future.
Report:
The past six months' build-up before Amateur Radio on the International Space Station could become a reality took many avenues including building hardware and resolving hardware issues, handling regulatory paperwork and coordinating schools.
Weekend after weekend, Frank, KA3HDO, held work parties with crews of hams local to Goddard, who completed assignments for ARISS hardware needs. Great strides were made in building required extra pieces of equipment, with the final result being the successful completion of a series of tests in Moscow done by AMSAT's Lou McFadin, W5DID, and NASA's Carolynn Conley, KD5JSO. (ARISS equipment testing, at the cost of many tens of thousands of dollars, continued to be funded by NASA Hq during 2000.) We also received buy-off by NASA of our flight safety data package. Weekly ARISS teleconferences (paid for by NASA) with SAREX representatives, international partners and NASA were held to painstakingly meet each milestone. Primary support and coordination of ARISS in the US now reside at Goddard Space Flight Center, and for the SAREX Working Group, Frank, KA3HDO, leads that team. (Johnson Space Center is our primary educational point of contact, and AMSATer Will Marchant, KC6ROL, leads the ARISS operations team and interfaces with Johnson Space Center for radio schedules.)
Chris Imlay assisted with FCC-required notification of operation, requesting call signs (NA1SS for the space station, and NN1SS for the ground station at Goddard Space Flight Center), and looking at the old rules for retransmission of audio and video. Discussion was held on the possibility of shuttle-docked astronauts guest-operating the ARISS station.
Old school applications were reviewed and given to AMSAT mentors who contacted the teachers for updates. A list was then compiled of the four oldest active school applications, and these schools began work to prepare the many details needed to complete a successful ARISS QSO.
Preparations Pay Off
In September, we were thrilled when a flawless launch of STS-106 carried our initial ARISS station hardware to the space station -- a very major milestone reached by the SAREX Working Group! Bill Shepherd, KD5GSL, first ISS commander, was scheduled to blast off from Russia in late October for occupancy on the ISS. He requested help from the SAREX Working Group to schedule time for a special school -- astronauts have always specified a small percentage of the selected schools. Bill and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, were delivered safely to the ISS, and among other things, set up the ham gear.
In mid-November, the first three test passes for the ARISS equipment were successfully completed. The astronauts were thrilled with the audio quality, and although we will not publicize this beyond this report, they told us the audio was better than both Russia and NASA Mission Control audio! The crew said they were anxious to set a busy schedule for school contacts once their schedules slowed down.
It was a wonderful success to have excellent test passes with the ARISS equipment, but the biggest thrill of all was listening to the first ARISS school contact. This took place just before the Christmas break with Bill, KD5GSL, and students at the Burbank School in Illinois. We received letters of congratulations from hams around the US. If the number of Web hits represents interest in a topic, ARISS was a hit! During a week, there were over 30,000 hits to the Goddard ARISS site. ARRL and Goddard Space Flight Center prepared news releases for Chicago-area media about the school QSO. NASA HQ spent time on a national release after the QSO, after sending a NASA crew to Chicago to document the QSO.
A second school QSO was successfully made on January 5, and another school is scheduled for mid-January. We hope to finalize a schedule of one school per week in order to deplete our backlog of school applications, and start scheduling overseas schools.
The ISS crew has recently been asked to turn on the packet equipment, and go over their work schedules to try to find open time to make random QSOs. News reports relate that they are so busy "setting up housekeeping" that they only get about 6 hours of sleep per day.
ARISS International Delegates -- ARISS' Future
Days after the ARISS test passes were successfully completed, delegates from the US, Russia, Japan and Canada, were hosted at Goddard Space Flight Center by counterparts from Belgium and Italy representing a consortium of European nations working with the European Space Agency. Delegates from Germany and France took part through a teleconference call. NASA representatives from Johnson Space Center and Goddard Space Flight Center also participated. Everyone celebrated the success of the Expedition One team that put ARISS on the air.
Delegates elected Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, to chair the Administrative Group that runs ARISS. Canadian and Belgian delegates nominated Rosalie White, K1STO, as ARISS Secretary-Treasurer. Terms are two years in length. The three-days of meetings at Goddard were held to cover proposals for future hardware, operations issues, educational activities and other topics. Rosalie, Frank and Will prepared presentations for the meetings. The Russians will now develop procedures for every minute of the future space walk to deploy the four antenna systems.
ARISS delegates voted to meet twice each year now that ARISS activities are gearing up. Various meeting sites were suggested, but it was deemed desirable to meet in the North American continent for one of these meetings per year.
ARISS Attracts Attention to Ham Radio
Frank Bauer traveled to Kennedy Space Center and met with reporters and handed out ARISS media pieces to news reporters during the launch of STS-106, which carried our hardware to the ISS. We were featured on the AP by space reporter Marcia Dunn, and also in Spaceflight Now and Space Daily. NASA updated their Human Spaceflight Web pages to include details about ARISS (and ARRL), and linked ARISS Web pages so that browsers can get information about us.
Frank also traveled to Johnson Space Center for a press briefing -- he and Rosalie generated ARISS material for folders of information to give to reporters. Frank and Rosalie networked with Goddard Space Flight Center's technology education specialist to plan a demonstration for an October conference of junior high teachers. ARISS got good publicity from CNN and MSNBC about the first ARISS school QSO, and with MSNBC for the second ARISS school QSO.
F&ES hosted a visit from ARISS volunteers John and Karen Nickel (WD5EEV, WD5EEU), and awarded them with the plaque the Board of Directors conferred during the July Board Meeting. We publicized this event on our Web site.
The Future of the SAREX Working Group
The SAREX Working Group wishes to continue to assume responsibilities as the link between ARISS and the ARRL Board. The acronym "SAREX" is well known to NASA and the Amateur Radio population. Its name value and reputation are worth preserving. It ensures continuation of the NASA policies that have contributed so much to Amateur Radio in regard to human space flight. The SAREX name will mean that ARRL and AMSAT will maintain an active role in human space flight. The ARISS group will assume the SAREX flight duties. Web pages have been updated to include the ARISS name.
Roy Neal intends to retire in May. At that time, Rosalie and Frank could continue as co-chairpersons of the SAREX Working Group, with more volunteers assisting with duties. Roy plans to continue volunteering his services to SAREX/ARISS as a consultant.
In Conclusion
The International Space Station is a bright, new star in the sky. The ARISS equipment on board ensures an equally bright future for Amateur Radio in human space flight. The SAREX/ARISS connection assures the ARRL Board of continuing control and access to those activities.
Post script: Here is a typical list for a teleconference issue that slowly gets resolved:
3.Cables: