Transcript Challenger Learning Center 2008 Anual Conf

Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station
Challenger Learning
Center 2008 Annual
Conference
August 27, 2008
John Nickel, [email protected]
Keith D. Pugh, [email protected]
Frank H. Bauer, [email protected]
Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS)
What is ARISS?
• International program that inspires students,
worldwide, to pursue careers in science,
engineering and mathematics through
communication with the ISS on-orbit crew via
amateur radio
• Local community drawn into this once-in-a-lifetime
human spaceflight pursuit
• Provides an experiment platform for new
telecommunications techniques
• Promotes interest in the amateur radio (ham radio)
hobby as a link to better engage students in
science and math
ARISS development, operations and student mentoring
is performed almost exclusively by a world-wide
network of amateur radio volunteers who are
passionately committed to the above objectives
ARISS USA Organization
ARISS Capabilities & Impact
• FGB-mounted 2 m Ericsson radio for voice & packet
– Operational less than 2 weeks after first crew arrival
making ARISS the first payload on ISS
• Developed 4 multi-band antenna systems; mounted on
the periphery of the Russian service module
• Developed and installed antennas on European
Columbus Module
• Installed UHF/VHF Kenwood D-700E in Service Module,
near the dinner table and window
• Successful completion of 357 schools
• 17 consecutive ISS expedition crews used our radio
system to conduct thousands of contacts with hams on
the ground since November 2000
• Over 15,000 students touched each year
• Millions, worldwide have heard an ARISS connection
• Millions, worldwide see ARISS contacts on ISS IMAX
film
• Witnessing students, worldwide, become scientists and
engineers as a direct result of the ARISS connection
• The first Spacesuit satellite—SuitSat-1/Radioskaf
deployed from ISS; SuitSat-2 on the horizon.
Yearly
grand
totals
School Contacts Per Year
tals
70
2000
1 42
2001
40
2002
2003
47
39
55
35
2004
2005
2006
2007
Crew School Contact Statistics
Top 5 expedition school contacts:
1) Exp 15—39
2) Exp 12—38
3) Exp 14—25
4) Exp 10—23
5) Exp 3—22
Top 5 individual school contact
counts for a single tour:
1) Bill McArthur – 37—Exp 12
2) Suni Williams – 33—Exp 14/15
3) Leroy Chiao – 23—Exp 10
4) Frank Culbertson – 22—Exp 3
5) Clay Anderson – 21—Exp 15/16
Suni Williams
KD5PLD
Recent Contact:
Space Day, May 3, 2008
Air & Space Museum
Astronaut Lee Morin Prepares the Students
for the ARISS Contact
Observations & Expectations
Recent Past
• Some crews have been very prolific in performing school contacts
(Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, Suni Williams, KD5PLD, Clay Anderson,
KD5PLA)
• General contacts sporadic; dependent upon crew interest
• High crew workload resulting in no school or general contacts
during most of Expedition 16
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Install and c/o US Harmony Node
Install and c/o European Columbus Module
Install and c/o Japanese Kibo Module
3 Shuttle flights
2 Soyuz flights
Inaugural ATV (Europe Automated Transfer Vehicle) flight
Present
• School contacts resume during Expedition 17
Near Future
• Mike Finke and Richard Garriott operations on ISS should include a
significant number of general contacts, school contacts, SSTV and
special ops
• Mid-2009 change to crew of 6 could change ops dynamics
– Many more schools and general contacts??
Expedition Schedule
LAUNCH DATE
Exp. 16 Soyuz up
October 2007
Exp. 16 Shuttle crew
Oct 2007
(10A)
Exp. 16 Shuttle crew
Feb 2008
(1E)
Exp. 16
Shuttle crew
March 2008
(1J/A)
Exp. 17 Soyuz up
April 2008
Exp. 17 Shuttle crew
May 2008
(1J)
Exp. 18 Soyuz up
October 2008*
CDR
FE-1
FE-2
Peggy Whitson
KC5ZTD
Yuri Malenchenko
RK3DUP
No Schools
Dan Tani
KD5DXE
School Contacts
Resume
Leopold Eyharts
KE5FNO
Garrett Reisman
KE5HAE
Sergei Volkov
RU3DIS
Oleg Kononenko
RN3DX
Greg Chamitoff
KD5PKZ
Michael Fincke
KE5AIT
Salizhan Sharipov
Exp. 17 Shuttle crew
Nov 2008
(ULF2)*
Sandy Magnus
KE5FYE
Exp. 17 Shuttle crew
Dec 2008
(15A)*
Koichi Wakata
KC5ZTA
* Indicates planning dates. Subject to change
ARISS
Future Opportunities
2008 Space Flight Participant
Richard Garriott
Proposed ARISS Activities:
•Earth-view SSTV downlinks—up
to 50 Earth views per day
•School contacts—8 Challenger
Centers, 2 international and 2
domestic
•Owen Garriott, W5LFL, 25th
anniversary commemorative ham
contacts
Richard Garriott
W5KWQ
Planned Launch—12 Oct 2008
Mike Finke on ISS—Expedition 18
Mike Finke, KE5AIT
with the Phase 1 Ericsson Radio
Expectations:
• Numerous school
contacts (up to 2-3 per
week)
• Voice contacts and voice
repeater operations
• Re-programming of
Kenwood D700
• SSTV operations
• Ericsson radio checkout
• Owen Garriott, W5LFL,
25th anniversary
commemorative ham
contacts
Expedition 18 Schedule:
October 2008-April 2009
SuitSat-1--Amateur Radio Extra Vehicular Activity
(EVA) In a Space Suit
• 2-week battery-operated
satellite station
• Capabilities:
– International Student
Message Downlink
– SSTV Picture
– Telemetry
– School Spacewalk—DVD
with school name, artwork
and student names included
• Deployment: Feb 3, 2006
• Re-entry: Sept 7, 2006
SuitSat Future
• Design work underway for SuitSat-2
• Expected shipment to Russia: 2009
• Expanded educational outreach
–
–
–
–
DVD with student pictures
Student audio downlinks
Pre-developed lesson plans (3 levels)
College students supporting hardware/software development
• Hardware design features:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Proven SuitSat-1 safety interlock
Software Defined Transponder (SDX) system (RF & DSP)
New transmitter, receiver & antenna system
Solar arrays from NASA SMEX-Lite project
Additional sensors
SSTV with up to 4 cameras for SSTV downlink
Up to 4 experiment ports
Maricopa, Arizona Scouts Participate in
SuitSat-2 Development
September 13, 2007
STUDENT PROJECTS
SUITSAT-2
DISCUSSIONS
Contact Options
• Direct
• Telebridge
Current Telebridge Stations
New VE4NSA Bridge Station
Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)
IRLP, Echolink and Internet Streaming Provides a Wider Reach to Schools and
Ham Radio Operators
Echolink
AMSAT and EDU_NET Servers
www.amsat.org
Calendar of Events
IRLP
9010 "Discovery" Reflector
www.discoveryreflector.ca
Application Process
• Direct or Telebridge Contact
• Complete application & education
proposal
• For USA - Email to [email protected]
• Confirming email returned
• Approximately 6 months before contact
an ARISS mentor will be assigned
• The ARISS mentor will guide you
through the contact preparations
Student - Question Preparation
• Select 12 students for contact
- Articulate students
- Ability to amplify voice
• Select 24 questions for contact
- All 12 students ask first 12 questions, repeat students in order
for second 12 questions
• Questions should be short, clear and
concise. Avoid long, complex and
philosophic questions.
• Several “dry runs” should be performed so
students are comfortable with their
questions and projecting their voice into the
microphone.
Primary Reasons for
Unsuccessful Contacts
(Current contact success rate ~95%)
• ISS Crew engrossed in primary mission
issue
• School group made an operations
(frequency or antenna pointing) error
• Hardware failure at the school with no
backup capability
The Key to Success
• Careful planning and preparation
• Minimize technical overhead
• Keep set up as simple as possible
while using adequate link margins
• Provide redundancy and always have a
back up plan
• Practice, practice, practice
ARISS Information
http://www.rac.ca/ariss
http://www.ariss.org