Members:
Roy Neal, K6DUE
Rosalie White, K1STO, ARRL representative (also elected ARISS Secy/Treasurer)
Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, AMSAT representative (also elected ARISS Chair)

ARRL Board Liaison: Joel Harrison, W5ZN

1. Task, or Objectives, of the Committee

Director's Workbook, Section 5.7-G. Reference: Minute 25 of the 1994 Second Meeting

2. Committee's Formal Report for July to December 2001

Outside Antenna Now Deployed!

In November, the ARISS team received approval from NASA's Safety Review Board for our antennas to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) via shuttle mission STS-108. The VHF/UHF antenna system, the first of four outdoor systems (VHF/UHF, 2-m, L-band, S-band), was installed January 14 on the ISS during a spacewalk by the US/Russian crew! Good video of the installation was shot and aired on NASA-TV, while Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Lou McFadin, W5DID, stood by in case of trouble or questions, from Goddard Space Flight Center's Mission Control. National Public Radio made mention of one of the four ham antennas being installed; the Cape Canaveral Bureau Chief covered the antennas in his news release about the spacewalk. A second antenna installation is scheduled for January 25.

The Italians and Americans built the antennas, diplexer, and mounting plates, and the US took on full integration for all hardware, and prepared the required installation procedure book. The Russians built the handrail clamp, cables and space-travel bags.

Installation of the first antenna was a huge relief for the ARISS team because Russia had required four changes to the completed antenna systems -- among other things, slots in the frames, tilt to the antennas -- plus redoing painting and silk screening. After re-fabrication and re-testing was done, the ARISS team voted to tell Russia we could not accept any more changes and meet deadlines. Just as NASA regularly experiences problematic issues working with Russia, so does ARISS. The Russians led the way in space with Sputnik and Mir, and the pride resulting from this still surfaces, likely in an attempt to make up for Russia's finances preventing it from this type of lead in space of the past. The ARISS team recently learned that the Russians still want (and have started work on) their own ISS ham station even though it is not what NASA or the ARISS team agreed to in their original MOU. The ARISS team is working this issue.

A new packet module was flown to the ISS, the beacon malfunctioned, and we troubleshot it. We composed testing procedures for the ISS crew, and to perform the re-load that could recover the beacon. The procedure was approved by the ISS Ops Plan Support Crew, and we await the procedure to be done. We are working on NASA approval for an SSTV system for future years.

Graph inserted: Antenna Location -- View from end of the ISS Service Module

ARISS on the Air -- PR, Education, and Enthusiasm for Amateur Radio

In August the IMAX Corporation filmed Texas students while they spoke with International Space Station (ISS) astronauts via ham radio. The footage was for Space Station, an IMAX film that will debut in mid-April. During the week of the debut, IMAX Corporation media people hope to do a series of media events aired live from one or more of our schools.

Astronaut Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, thrilled hams by making Field Day QSOs; she even submitted a score to compete. The ARISS team sent up to the ISS an ARRL Field Day pin (with a script that was read to her, congratulating her). NASA's Today's Spacefact! carried a story about Susan that included news about her Field Day pin. She also handled a successful QSO during the Boy Scout National Jamboree boasting 40,000 scouts attending from around the world. Ham radio got a nice mention during the Susan's crew shift Mission Briefing on NASA TV.

A crew change took place on the ISS in August -- Susan came home, and Commander Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ, geared up for his stay. In September Culbertson told the ARISS team he wanted to make QSOs during Jamboree on the Air. We sent up the details to him, and posted the exciting good news on scout/radio Web sites. Frank's QSOs were a huge hit with hams. NASA publicized a photo of him using the radios while wearing his scout shirt. The next issue of scouting's Boys Life carried an article about ARISS. Culbertson had learned to really enjoy ham radio -- he already had 19 school QSOs under his belt, but asked that we step up the skeds. In November, he scheduled nine schools, fitting two contacts in a single day on successive Fridays.

In December, Culbertson turned over the ISS reins to an all-ham-licensed Expedition 4 crew: Yuri Onufrienko, RK3DUO; Dan Bursch, KD5PNU; and Carl Walz, KC5TIE. Culbertson's recent mission debriefing on NASA TV included the presentation of a plaque prepared by ARRL for his JOTA activity. The ARISS team received word in early January that some general ham QSOs were being done by the new Expedition 4 crew, and schools would finally be scheduled.

An ARISS volunteer reported in late December that MSNBC received many hits for its real-time on-line ARISS stories. Nearly 3,600 unique users accessed an ARISS story that ran in January, over 3,500 accessed an October ARISS story, and nearly 3,500 for one in November. ARRL's PR staff often reports the ARISS news stories that are done by grassroots authors and seen by the non-ham general public on TV, radio or Web sites, or in newspapers.

In mid-July we took delivery of ARISS QSL cards. The Newington Amateur Radio League was solicited to process 400 QSL requests; F&ES gave Joe Carcia his card, resulting in a photo op and Web story! Canada, Europe and Japan recently began handling QSLs from their countries' hams.

ARISS Funding -- NASA Provided $140,000 in 2001

NASA Headquarters Education Office continues to fund ARISS, providing $140,000 in 2001. This money covered the high cost of fabrication, testing and integration of our equipment for space. For hardware, ARISS must provide 10 units for any ham radio system we fly. NASA has given us similar sums of money in previous few years.

We worked with NASA Hq on their evaluation form (designed for ARISS teachers), and nearly completed updating the lithograph that NASA gives out to tens of thousands of teachers. We continued to mail ARISS lesson plans designed by NASA and us, to schools scheduled for QSOs.

Astronaut Training

A questionnaire was designed for newly named ISS crew members to help us learn what ham experience they have, what training they need, and what their main ham radio interests are. We also developed a questionnaire for the Expedition 3 crew upon their return to earth about what they found successful and what could be improved.

The ARISS team took part in a teleconference meeting with NASA on how astronauts' ham radio time is accounted for by NASA. Each time a new Expedition crew moves into the ISS, we find it necessary to educate the new support staff.

The SAREX Working Group Continues as the US Part of the Worldwide ARISS Team

In July, we scheduled the first Russian school for an ARISS QSO -- the Saint Petersburg Junior Technical Centre. Next we integrated schools in Newfoundland, Finland and Japan. As of October, scheduled schools were equally allocated between Europe, US, Russia, Japan, Canada and crew-selected schools. A tentative school QSO schedule has been set up through May.

The ARISS officers named Rosalie White chair of the ARISS School Group, besides overall secretary to ARISS. Rosalie set up the first ARISS School Group teleconference meeting and its agenda. (NASA pays for the teleconferencing of committee members representing Canada, Japan, Russia and Europe.) The group meets each month, with Rosalie moderating, and drafting Minutes. She and the Japanese representative developed a Terms of Reference for the committee, which is being finalized. The recent focus of the ARISS School Group has been on QSOs that could be done by "taxi flight crews" (visiting "spationauts" arriving via shuttles and Soyuzes).

The ARISS worldwide team had voted to meet twice yearly, but this fall decided it was necessary to spend the time on completing the configuration and fabrication of the required multiple sets of hardware. Our next meeting will be in April at the Canadian Space Agency, Montreal.

Summary

During the last half of 2001, the SAREX Working Group has taken great pride in the wonderful success of ARISS with school QSOs and on-the-air activities done by ISS crews.

Because we are the first international payload onboard ISS, there is always some new specification to meet, a new wrinkle, a change in schedule to integrate. ARISS hams from around the world have become an accomplished international team working together, even though our cultures are very different. It has been, and will be, a lot of work to ensure Amateur Radio operators worldwide can still continue to enjoy communicating with ISS crews. We will persist in finding the time, energy and know-how to discover unique methods to work through the problems, as true ham operators always do!