Posted on 01/29/2006 7:12:35 PM PST by Denver Ditdat
Did you ever want to participate in a International Space Station mission? Starting Friday, February 3rd, you may get your chance. An old, used Russian spacesuit has been transformed into a most unusual earth orbit satellite. Just add one Kenwood TH-K2AT handi-talkie transceiver, a battery pack, a sensor for temperature readings, a compact voice synthesizer and telemetry device and a small helmet-mounted antenna and you are good to go.
The modified spacesuit will be thrust out of the space station into orbit and will begin broadcasting voice messages and slow scan television on 145.990 MHz FM in the two-meter amateur band. The Kenwood HT produces 5 watts RF output. Discover the time of fly-by using NASA's fascinating J-Pass program available at: http://science.nasa.gov/RealTime/JPass/25/JPass.asp. Enter your Zip Code and you'll instantly know when the next show begins. Aim your Yagis toward the proper position in the sky! You may hear Suit Sat's 30-second message of greetings, followed by a burst of telemetry. Transmission of a slow scan TV picture ends the sequence.
Mission Specialists at NASA have especially encouraged schools to participate in listening for Suit Sat and reporting receptions to the project's website suitsat.org. Awards will be issued to groups that copy Suit Sat's message. Extra credit is given to those who can capture the slow scan TV picture!
For more information on Suit Sat, head for these web sites: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/articles/SuitSat/ and http://www.suitsat.org/ You can see a press conference clip on the mission at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/information/videoNews.php By the way, I like a snug fit. Do you have anything in a 42 Regular in white?
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Way cool PING
Ground Control to Major Tom...
Coolness bump!
Do I really need a yagi since I'm 1k to 2k feet higher than you!!!
73
I'm in, tuning my HT and police scanners to 145.990 Mc. I do remember hearing ISS and MIR traffic before that, usually on 143.625 Mc.
I'm going to listen with my HT and a Diamond SRH320A triband duck just to see what I hear. Minimalist stations can be a lot of fun, even if they are frustrating at times.
Very cool!
I think the average orbital height of the ISS is something like 350KM. The suit won't stay in orbit long without an external boost to overcome atmospheric drag. Maybe we can plot its eventual demise and watch for it burning up in the atmosphere.
The project--called Radioskaf or Radio Sputnik was led by project manager A. P. Alexandrov and Deputy Project Manager A. Poleshuk from RSC Energia. On the US side, AMSAT Board member Lou McFadin, W5DID headed up the hardware project development. The SuitSat electronics were built and tested in Phoenix, AZ by a team lead by Steve Bible, N7HPR.
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I'm glad some think it's cool. I just roll my eyes back and shake my head.
The antenna can't be more than 3 feet away from his desk, either - I'll bet he's waaaaaay over his RF exposure limits. ;-)
Running only on internal batteries within the spacesuit, SuitSat will have a limited, but interesting lifetime beaming down special messages and an SSTV image as it floats in space. Having no external thrust to adjust its orbit after it is hand-deployed during the EVA, SuitSat will be in a free-floating, but decaying orbit around Earth. It is expected to remain in orbit up to 6 weeks after being deployed.
I suppose you're right about how long it will be up there. Also, I suppose it will be interesting to some radio folk here on earth so it's not a total waste of time and/or resources.
With all the more legitimate research they could be doing, this just seems like such a bizarre thing to do: Hey, guys, I'm bored, let's toss some stuff out the hatch and see if anyone notices!
By the way, what are they supposed to be doing up there? (Unfortunately, that last comment is only half-sarcastic.)
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