ARISS International Teleconference
Tuesday, November 15, 2005, 12:30 UTC (7:30 am ET)
Participants:
Frank Bauer
Rosalie White
Larry Agabekov
Keigo Komuro
Masanobu Tsuji
Mark Steiner
Dave Larsen
Daniel Lamoureux
Robin Haighton
Ken Pulfer
Ken Nichols
Gaston Bertels
Lou McFadin
Keith Pugh
Carol Jackson
Miles Mann
Kenneth Ransom
Bob Bruninga
Interpreter, Alexandra Tussing
Unable to Attend:
Tadeu Fernandes
Carlos Eavis
Graham Shirville
Jim Heck
Erika Vick
Scott Stevens
Bill Boston
Jon Neubauer
Sergey Samburov did not attend
ARISS I Agenda:
Administrative Session
1. QSL cards, Presenter: Rosalie White
Rosalie has sent out emails with the latest information and order requests. She noted that Russia has decided to order 100 of their own directly from a Russian card printer.
2. New Business (administrative only)
General Session
3. Marcos Pontes, Presenter: F. Bauer
ARISS is working to get Marcos licensed and get him set up for school contacts. He represents the Brazilian Space Agency, and will be flying on a Soyuz taxi flight.
4. PCSAT2, Presenter: F. Bauer
Frank asked Bob Bruninga to give a status of PCSAT2 operations. They are in a normal operations mode, gathering solar cell data and trying not to interfere with ARISS ops. The 10m uplink receiver for the PSK-31 mode appears to not be working, so it has been shut down.
Frank noted that there are many possibilities for additional payloads, both internal and external. There have been safety issues with PCSAT2 that have impacted the rest of ARISS hardware currently on orbit, and these could have implications for future amateur radio payloads.
Frank asked Bob to describe PCSAT2 safety concerns. JSC required 4 inhibits on his 2W transmitter during EVA and operating the robotic arm. PCSAT2 was designed with a load across the battery to prevent overcharging, which limits how long the payload can be turned off. PCSAT2 used astronauts as a backup command-off path, but coordination of that effort is difficult as well as coordinating the ground commands.
Frank noted that PCSAT2 has spurs that are interfering with the Soyuz and Progress docking and undocking TV operations. Bob noted that there is a ~450 MHz spur that is more than 60dB down (per commercial specs), but NASA wants it to be 80 dB down. Frank noted that there was a time when there were high-priority discussions with the crew regarding PCSAT2 ops, including using ARISS internal hardware by the crew to command PCSAT2 off, but the main ARISS team was not totally informed or brought in to help.
The current status is that for docking/undocking, PCSAT2 transmitter inhibit is enough. For EVA’s, all 4 inhibits must be in place.
Frank emphasized that there needs to be full cooperation between all parties on all operations so everyone is fully engaged.
Frequency use has to be closely coordinated, to take into account concerns across all ITU regions and countries.
PCSAT2 is currently scheduled to be brought back on STS-116.
There are 2 additional payloads planned by Bob and the Naval Academy, a debris hit monitor and a space environment monitor. Collectively these are covered under the name “SCIENCE” for his proposals to the US Dept. of Defense payload selection process.
Robin pointed out that Bob should make sure that all NASA requirements are met by his designs. It is quite different to fly equipment on a human spaceflight vehicle compared to amateur radio free-flying spacecraft.
Frank pointed out that Bob’s new projects need to be reviewed by the ARISS Project Selection and Use Committee for approval. ARISS could have helped in the design process to meet safety requirements, but the details of the safety design were not fully shared with the ARISS hardware team. Also, up-to-date documentation is key to successful flight and operations.
It is good to be seen as one group, amateur radio, because that means we are working together. It also means that actions of one payload team affect the perception of amateur radio by the whole ISS team, especially the space agencies.
5. SuitSat & SSTV Status, Presenter: S. Samburov
Sergey did not attend. Frank noted that there are some safety discussions going on regarding SuitSat. An article has been written and posted to the ARISS website. Batteries are an issue since two batteries were disposed of in the last Progress. Lou McFadin still anticipates between 72 and 120 hours of operations, less than we had anticipated. However, there are many factors beyond batteries that might impact length of operation.
SSTV – The ARISS team still does not know the status of getting a dedicated computer available for SSTV operations.
6. New business
Frank will schedule the kickoff Exploration Initiative teleconference in the next week or so.
Ken thanked Carol Jackson on taking over day-to-day responsibilities for keeping the ARISS website up-to-date.
Gaston: The L/S band antenna will undergo testing in a Columbus cleanroom in the next week or so. He is endeavoring to get photos of the antenna during testing as well as the feed-throughs on the module itself.
This week is “Space Weather Week” at ESA, and the AMSAT-Italia group has put together an amateur radio webpage on HF DX.
Action Item for Delegates
Provide the name of 1-2 Points of Contact from each region to support the Exploration Initiative activities. To be supplied by November 1.
USA POC – Frank Bauer, Rosalie White
Japan POC – Masanobu Tsuji, Keigo Komuro
Canada – Robin Haighton, Ken Pulfer
Europe – Graham Shirville, Gaston Bertels
Russia –
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Steiner, K3MS for the ARISS Team