Category Archives: ARISS

ARISS Integration and On-air Testing at ASA

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A large number of people, including seven hams from NCRC, were at All Saints Academy from 8:30 AM until 4:30 PM this past Saturday helping to install the RF equipment necessary to provide the communication link between ASA and the International Space Station on the event day (first week of May).

With the assistance of the Middletown Fire Department, and other folks supporting the Audio and Visual equipment, the antenna systems were installed and tested on-air.  We also proved that the interface between the AV and radio gear was functioning.  A digital contact was made between ISS and the school station as well.

A slide show of the activity can be found here.

NCRC-ARISS Crew Captures ISS SSTV Image

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The NCRC ARISS Team continues to refine their skills. During a fairly low pass this afternoon, they captured a Slow Scan TV (SSTV) image sent from the International Space Station (ISS) to commemorate the first ARISS contact made many years ago (over 1,000 contacts have been made to date).

The pass was a low altitude one, only rising 24 degrees above the horizon. The image began about 3 minutes after ISS rose above the horizon and completed about 3 minutes before the ISS would set. The SSTV images are being sent using the standard VHF FM Voice gear, and signal levels were quite strong, with S-5 or above levels using a Egg-Beater antenna.  The horizontal noise streaks occur during deep fades of the signal.

Image Captured Live April 13, 2016 from 2046 to 2050 UTC

Image Captured Live April 13, 2016 from 2046 to 2050 UTC

A good discussion of what is required to pickup and decode the SSTV signals can be found here:  https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/iss-sstv/

N1ASA – All Saints Academy 1st ISS Contact!

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At 21:16:47 UTC (5:17 PM) today, N1ASA from All Saints Academy (ASA) was copied by several hams making a round trip Packet contact with the Packet Robot, RS0ISS, aboard the International Space Station (ISS).  The following packet was logged by a Canadian ham:

20160407211647 : N1ASA]APRSAT,RS0ISS*,qAR,VE2GQF-2::EMAIL :abrouse@allsaintsacademy.org Note thru ISS

Since ASA was sending position data as well, their packets were were forwarded via outer space to the APRS system which allowed them to be recorded on the following map:

N1ASA on Map

Congratulations to All Saints Academy for their first contact with the ISS (and proof that their gear is working fine for upcoming ARISS contact in early May).

Initial Review of ARISS Technical Proposal Favorable

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ariss_logoThe ARISS Technical Team (Mike K1NPT, Jeff KA1NGP, and Bob WB4SON) presented their initial technical proposal to the ARISS mentor this afternoon and received positive initial feedback.

A couple of tweaks will be required to the equipment list to optimize things (two complete stations must be provided and the RF requirements are pretty high for both the TX and RX paths to ensure a horizon to horizon contact).  Plus the audio/visual details still need development.

The goal is to have the proposal submitted within the next week or so.

All Saints Academy Selected to move on for ARISS Contact

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All Saints Academy was one of fourteen schools and organizations that submitted proposals to host an Amateur Radio contact with the International Space Station (ARISS). They are moving into the final stage of the selection process. Schools or organizations ultimately selected will host a scheduled Amateur Radio contact with an ISS crew member during the first half of 2016.

Congratulations to Mike Cullen for writing a successful proposal, to Rob White for all his efforts with Mike in growing young ASA hams, and to KVH Industries, Newport County Radio Club, RIDOE, FabNewport, and ATC Tech for being event sponsors.

See the official ARRL announcement here:  http://www.arrl.org/news/fourteen-us-schools-groups-on-list-to-host-ham-contacts-with-space-station