 The new ARISS antennas: The WA1 through WA3 antennas will support VHF and UHF with the flexible tapes. The WA4 antenna includes the 2.5-meter flexible tape for HF. The flat spiral L/S-band microwave antenna is within the Delrin radome cover. The systems include a diplexer and interconnecting RF cables as well as mounting hardware. One VHF-UHF antenna and the HF antenna already have been installed on the ISS. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 1, 2002--The last two Amateur Radio antennas are scheduled to be installed this month on the International Space Station's Zvezda Service Module--the crew's living quarters. The specially designed flexible-tape antennas will support Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) VHF and UHF operation and are similar to an antenna installed last January 14 by the Expedition 4 crew.
ARISS International Group Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, says current plans call for Expedition 5 crew members to carry out space walks (called extra-vehicular activities or EVAs) August 16 and August 22. The two ARISS antennas could be installed during one or both of those EVAs. The all-ham Expedition 5 crew members are commander Valery Korzun, RZ3FK, cosmonaut Sergei Treschev, RZ3FU, and US astronaut Peggy Whitson, KC5ZTD.
"We are working with Sergej Samburov, RV3DR, on the EVA procedures to install these last two antennas on the mid-August EVA," Bauer said. "Once these antennas are installed and some tests planned for September are completed in Russia, additional ISS ham radio equipment will be installed in the Service Module."
The ARISS initial ham station gear--single-band Ericsson 5-W hand-held transceivers for 2 meters and 70 cm--is installed in the Zarya Functional Cargo Block (FGB) using antennas initially installed to aid docking operations and EVAs. The new VHF-UHF antennas and a flexible-tape HF antenna also installed January 25 are designed for and dedicated to ARISS operations. There is no HF gear aboard the ISS at this point.
Installation of the new antenna on Zvezda
makes possible two separate ham stations aboard Space Station Alpha. Bauer said
the additional gear due to be installed in the Service Module is one of the 5-W
70-cm transceivers already aboard the ISS. The ARISS 2-meter transceiver now in
use from the FGB will remain operational. "This will provide multiband
operation," he said. Plans down the road call for installing HF gear at the
ARISS station as well as higher power VHF and UHF equipment.
 Increment 5 crew commander Valery Korzun, RZ3FK, at work in the ISS Destiny Lab. |
While the ARISS schedule of school contacts has been at a lull during the summer, Korzun has taken time to make some casual contacts. In addition, Bauer reported, Korzun logged nearly 140 ARRL Field Day contacts in June. "Valery was on the air during just about all the passes we provided to the ISS crew prior to Field Day," Bauer said, noting that Korzun has been active on FM voice and packet.
In addition to his on-the-air activities, Korzun also connected a computer to the ARISS packet module and got the system running again after it was down for several weeks. "The computer that is currently being used for the packet system is the IBM Thinkpad A22P that Mark Shuttleworth left on board the ISS after his flight," Bauer said. "We are working to try to keep this unit on the ISS ham radio system."
Bauer advised packet operators to stick with UNPROTO operations whenever possible and to use the Packet Mailbox System (PMS) only sparingly, if at all, for brief messages.
ARISS is an international project sponsored
jointly by ARRL, NASA and AMSAT. A paper entitled "2001:
an Amateur Radio Space Odyssey on the International Space Station," which
details the development of ARISS and discusses the four new ARISS antennas, is
available via the ARISS
Web site.
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