SAREX FACT SHEET - STS-79 Media Contact: Jennifer Gagne Media Relations Assistant American Radio Relay League (860) 594-0328 (860) 594-0200 Educational Contact: Bob Inderbitzen Educational Activities Department American Radio Relay League (860) 594-0213 (860) 594-0200 SHUTTLE-MIR MISSION WILL INCLUDE HAM RADIO (SAREX MISSION STS-79 FACT SHEET) The fourth in the joint American-Russian space shuttle missions will again include Amateur Radio. Ham radio operators and students will attempt to make radio contacts with the orbiting shuttle as part of a project called SAREX, or the Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment. Amateur Radio has been flying aboard the shuttles since 1983, providing the public with a unique vantage point of space. Amateur (or "ham") Radio operators from around the world will point their antennas at the Space Shuttle Atlantis, hoping to find the astronauts are on-the-air. Some of these amateurs have volunteered to assist student groups that have prepared questions to ask the astronauts during specially scheduled contact times. These questions may be about the significance of this particular flight--a docking mission with the Russian Space Station Mir. During the flight, the shuttle will rendezvous and dock with Mir, ferrying supplies, personnel, and scientific equipment to the complex 240 miles above the Earth. To make their radio contacts, the astronauts will use a radio aboard the shuttle, on frequencies used by ham radio operators. The contacts will demonstrate to young people, teachers, parents and communities how Amateur Radio and space energize students about science, technology, and learning. For the students that participate in SAREX, the contact is the culmination of months of hard work. Many of the students have studied space science, communication, and have trained to use ham radio equipment and shuttle- tracking computer software. To operate Amateur Radio from the space shuttle, one or more of the astronauts needs to have an Amateur Radio license. Astronaut Jay Apt will serve as a Mission Specialist, and has Amateur Radio call sign N5QWL. Jay has flown on 3 previous shuttle missions, and has operated Amateur Radio during each flight. He flew aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis during mission STS-37 in April 1991, performing two space walks. His next flight was from the Shuttle Endeavour during STS-47 in September 1992. He flew again aboard Endeavour on STS-59 in April 1994. Making his 5th shuttle mission is John Blaha who will serve as a Mission Specialist. John first participated in SAREX during his last shuttle mission, STS-58, aboard Columbia in October/November 1993. He's since earned ham radio call sign KC5TZQ. His first space mission was STS-29 aboard Discovery in March 1989. He again served on Discovery for STS-33 in November 1989, and on Atlantis during STS-43 in August 1991. During this mission, Blaha will switch places with astronaut Shannon Lucid, remaining with the Mir Space Station. He'll conduct material, fluid, and life science research for 5 months with the Mir 22 and Mir 23 Cosmonaut crews, and return to Earth aboard mission STS-81 in December 1996. Shannon has been aboard Mir since STS-76 in March 1996. Astronaut Carl Walz is KC5TIE. He participated in SAREX from Columbia during STS-65 in July 1994, before earning his Amateur Radio license. His first mission was STS-51 in September 1993. During that flight, Carl participated in a space walk to evaluate tools for the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. The remaining crew members include Commander William F. Readdy (STS-42 in January 1992, STS-51 in September 1993), Pilot Terrence W. Wilcutt (STS-68 in September/October 1994), and Mission Specialist Thomas D. Akers (STS-41 in October 1990, STS-49 in May 1992, and STS-61 in December 1993. WHEN: Launch is scheduled for September 12, 1996 at 6:26 AM EDT (1026 UTC) from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida. Landing is scheduled for September 21, 1996 at 11:30 AM EDT (1530 UTC) at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. 9 day, 5 hour mission. WHERE: The launch will place the shuttle into Earth orbit at an altitude of 196-245 statute miles (315-394 km) and an inclination of 51.6 degrees. WHY: NASA's intent in making astronauts available for SAREX operations is to involve the largest possible numbers of people, particularly students, in technology and the US space program with the help of Amateur Radio. During SAREX missions, the astronauts will typically make the following types of Amateur Radio contacts: Scheduled radio contacts with schools. Random radio contacts with the Amateur Radio community. Personal contacts with the astronauts' families. CREW MEMBERS (titles and Amateur Radio call signs): William F. Readdy, Commander Terrence W. Wilcutt, Pilot Thomas D. Akers, Mission Specialist Jay Apt, Mission Specialist, N5QWL Carl E. Walz, Mission Specialist, KC5TIE Mir Upload: John E. Blaha, Mission Specialist, KC5TZQ Mir Download: Shannon W. Lucid, Mission Specialist PAYLOAD: STS-79 is the fourth in the joint American-Russian shuttle-Mir series of missions. During the flight, the shuttle crew will dock with the Russian Mir Space Station, ferrying supplies, personnel, and scientific equipment to the complex 240 miles above the Earth. The payload bay will house a SPACEHAB module to carry the 7000 pounds of items and experiments. Additional STS-79 mission information can be obtained from NASA: * NASA Shuttle World Wide Web Home Page: http://shuttle.nasa.gov * NASA Spacelink computer information system (look under Spacelink.Hot.Topics) BBS: (205) 895-0028 [VT-100, 8-N-1] Telnet, FTP, and Gopher: spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov World Wide Web: http://spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov Internet TCP/IP address: 192.149.89.61 SAREX SPONSORS: The Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX) is sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) and The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). SAREX is supported by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS: Schools are selected from around the world to make contact with the shuttle during most SAREX missions. These contacts are prearranged, giving the schools a greater chance at making a successful contact. A few students at each of the selected schools ask questions of the astronauts during the contact. The nature of these contacts embodies the primary goal of SAREX--to excite students' interest in learning. The following schools were selected by the SAREX Working Group for a scheduled radio contact during this mission: Andover Middle School Andover, Kansas Immaculate Conception Elementary School Celina, Ohio The Royal School For Girls Haslemere, Surrey, England ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS- SAREX RADIO FREQUENCIES: During most SAREX missions, many of the crew members will make random contacts with earth-bound hams. They make these contacts during their breaks, before and after meal time, and during their pre-sleep time. In fact, over the past years the astronauts have contacted thousands of amateurs around the world. Since this flight is a shuttle-Mir docking mission, and SAREX and Mir Amateur Radio stations sometimes share the same downlink frequency (145.55 MHz), the SAREX Working Group has decided to use the following frequencies during this mission. The crew will use separate receive and transmit frequencies. PLEASE do not transmit on the shuttle's DOWNLINK frequency. The DOWNLINK is your receiving frequency. The UPLINK is your transmitting frequency. FM Voice Downlink: 145.84 MHz FM Voice Uplink: 144.45, 144.47 MHz The crew will not favor either uplink frequency, so your ability to communicate with SAREX will be the "luck of the draw." Transmit only when the shuttle is within range of your station, and when the shuttle's station is on-the-air. CALL SIGNS: FM voice call signs N5QWL, KC5TIE, and KC5TZQ QSL VIA: Send reports and QSLs to ARRL EAD, STS-79 QSL, 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494, USA. Include the following information in your QSL or report: STS-78, date, time in UTC, frequency and mode (FM voice). In addition, you must also include a SASE using a large, business-sized envelope if you wish to receive a card. The Bergen Amateur Radio Association in New Jersey has generously volunteered to manage the cards for this mission. SHUTTLE TRACKING: Current Keplerian elements to track the shuttle are available from the following sources: * NASA Spacelink computer information system BBS: (205) 895-0028 [VT-100, 8-N-1] Telnet, FTP, and Gopher: spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov World Wide Web: http://spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov Internet TCP/IP address: 192.149.89.61 * NASA SAREX WWW Home Page: http://www.nasa.gov/sarex/sarex_mainpage.html * ARRL W1AW news bulletins (frequencies and times listed under "FOR FURTHER INFORMATION") BBS: (860) 594-0306 World Wide Web: http://www.arrl.org/sarex/ * AMSAT World Wide Web: http://www.amsat.org * Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club BBS: (713) 244-5625 * Goddard Amateur Radio Club BBS: (301) 286-4137 World Wide Web: http://garc.gsfc.nasa.gov/www/garc-home-page.html Packet: WA3NAN on 145.090 MHz in DC area CONFIGURATION: During STS-79, the SAREX hardware will be flown in configuration M. Configuration M uses the shuttle/Mir VHF radio for FM voice radio contacts. During final approaches to the Mir Space Station, a VHF radio is used by the shuttle Commander to radio the Mir crew by ship-to-ship communications, providing shuttle status and keeping them informed of major events from that point on, including confirmation of contact, capture and conclusion of damping. This same VHF radio is used by the crew for SAREX activities during shuttle/Mir docking missions. SAREX ELECTRONIC MAILING LIST: The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation in North America (AMSAT-NA) operates the Internet host AMSAT.ORG to provide for efficient communications between people interested in the amateur satellite program. Periodic mailings to the SAREX list include information and press releases pertaining to SAREX missions. This mailing list is very active during SAREX missions, and can be fairly quiet in between missions. To subscribe to the SAREX mailing list, send a message with your request to listserv@amsat.org. Be sure to include your call sign (if any), your correct email address, and the proper name of the mailing list you wish to receive (SAREX). Your request will be processed manually for now, so the format of your request is not important. To unsubscribe from the mailing list, send another message with your request to listserv@amsat.org. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Contact the American Radio Relay League Educational Activities Department 225 Main Street, Newington CT 06111-1494 USA Telephone (860) 594-0301, FAX (860) 594-0259, ARRL BBS (860) 594-0306 Internet sarex@arrl.org World Wide Web http://www.arrl.org/ CompuServe 70007,3373 Prodigy PTYS02A America Online HQARRL1 ARRL's (Newington, CT) Amateur Radio station (call sign W1AW) transmits news bulletins (9:45 PM, 12:45 AM EST) on HF bands at 1.855, 3.99, 7.29, 14.29, 18.16, 21.39, 28.59 megahertz (MHz) and in the Connecticut-area on VHF at 147.555 MHz. W1AW bulletins are also forwarded on packet. Members of the Goddard Amateur Radio Club (Greenbelt, MD) re-transmit live, shuttle air-to-ground audio over the amateur frequencies from their club station, WA3NAN. To listen-in, tune to Amateur Radio high frequency (HF) bands at 3.86, 7.185, 14.295, 21.395, and 28.65 megahertz (MHz) and in the Maryland/DC area on a very high frequency (VHF) band at 147.45 MHz. The "SAREX Bulletin" contains additional general information on SAREX. This document may be obtained electronically from many of the popular on-line electronic services (look for SAREXFAQ.TXT). The American Radio Relay League, Newington Conn. USA STS79FCT.TXT RJI 7/24/96 eof