NEWINGTON, CT, Sep 6, 2000--The space shuttle Atlantis this week will bring Amateur Radio operation from the International Space Station a giant leap closer to reality. Now cleared by NASA for launch September 8, Atlantis will carry the initial Amateur Radio on the International Space Station equipment as well as other supplies needed by the Expedition 1 ISS crew members.
The way was cleared earlier this summer for the Amateur Radio gear itself to be launched into space. As part of the multinational ARISS project, the gear will be stowed aboard the ISS until the Expedition 1 crew comes aboard in late October.
While there will not be any Amateur Radio operation from either the shuttle or from the space station itself during this mission, STS-106, Atlantis will deliver the ARISS VHF and UHF hand-held transceivers as well as a TNC for packet, a specially developed headset and signal adapter module plus power adapters and interconnecting cables. The Atlantis mission marks the fourth shuttle flight to the International Space Station and the third shuttle mission this year.
 The ARISS initial amateur gear in a NASA "soft stow" bag that protects the gear during flight and transfer from the shuttle to the ISS. The initial ham gear--primarily Ericsson commercial-grade hand-held transceivers--eventually will support amateur operation from the ISS on voice and AFSK packet on 2 meters and 70 cm. [NASA photo] |
The STS-106 orbiter Atlantis rolls out to Launch Pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. [NASA photo] |
NASA will have under three minutes to launch Atlantis on Friday morning--the shortest launch window ever for a shuttle. The space agency is attempting to trim the launch windows, thereby using the least amount of fuel to reach the station.
During the nearly two-week mission, the seven-member crew will unload space station supplies from both the shuttle and from a Russian Progress cargo ship that's now docked at the ISS.
The Expedition 1 crew will consist of three amateurs: US astronaut Bill Shepherd, KD5GSL, and Russian Cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, and Yuri Gaidzenko, whose call sign was not available.
NASA and the Russian space organization Energia have signed agreements that spell out the place of Amateur Radio aboard the ISS. A technical team, called ISS Ham, has been officially set up to serve as the interface to support hardware development, crew training and operations from space.
One aboard the ISS, ARISS initial station gear will be installed temporarily aboard the Functional Cargo Block module and use an existing antenna that's being adapted to support FM voice and packet on 2 meters but not on 70 cm. The ARISS gear will get a more-permanent home aboard the Service Module next year, once VHF and UHF antennas can be installed.
A Russian call sign, RZ3DZR, has been issued for the ISS ham radio station. A German call sign, DL0ISS, also has been issued, and a US call sign will be applied for.
An artist's conception of the completed ISS. [NASA] |
The $60-billion International Space Station is being built jointly by the US, Russia, the European Space Agency, Canada and Japan.
For more information about Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, visit the ARISS Web site.
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