ISS Fan Club

As you may or may not be aware, ARISS trains each ISS crew before they go up to the ISS on using the onboard radios and ARISS procedures. To make the training more realistic, ARISS has arranged for a local Houston school to participate in 2 simulated ARISS contacts with crewmembers in training at JSC. These two contacts will be retransmitted on IRLP via the 9010 Discovery reflector and the W5RRR repeater. Please note, that the times may fluctuate somewhat depending on the start time of the training is going and crewmember availability.

Simulated contact with Bay Area Charter Elementary School, El Lago, Texas

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of the deployment of SuitSat-1/Radioskaf/AO-54 from the ISS. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers around the world that supported the SuitSat-1 development, deployment, public outreach and ground station reception.

Despite its lateness, I would also like to announce that the SuitSat Certificates have been mailed to the regional QSL distributors who will, in turn, mail these to you in the very near future. Specifically, this is the ARRL in the U.S. and ARISS-EU in Europe. The Canadian certificates were mailed directly to their QTHs. I will take responsibility for the lateness in delivery of these. My extensive work travel over the past two years coupled with needing to focus on keeping the ARISS program alive despite looming budget threats were factors in not getting these to you in a timely basis. I hope you will enjoy them, just the same.

A report from 9W2QC from Malaysia indicates the crossband repeater on ISS is currently active. It should stay operational until the unit must be shut down for the undocking operations of the Progress 27 on Feb 4. Frequencies are 437.800 MHz uplink and 145.800 MHz downlink. Keep in mind the extreme Doppler on the uplink and it is highly recommended that you operate full duplex to see if you are making it through or interfering with another station unknowingly.

Enjoy and good luck.

Kenneth - N5VHO

Source: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/sarex/10day/msg01495.html

Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Dan Tani finished their spacewalk at 12:06 p.m. EST Wednesday. They spent 7 hours and 10 minutes outside the International Space Station on the starboard side of the truss structure.

+ Read more about the spacewalk at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition16/exp16_eva_013008.html

The spacewalkers removed and replaced a Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module (BMRRM) that experienced electrical failures in early December. The BMRRM, or “broom”, drives the solar arrays as they tilt towards the sun maximizing power generation.

WASHINGTON - NASA senior managers completed a review Wednesday of space shuttle Atlantis' readiness for flight. Pending closure of an issue with a shuttle radiator hose, the STS-122 mission will launch Feb. 7 at 2:45 p.m. EST.

During an inspection of Atlantis Tuesday, one of four hoses that carry Freon to the shuttle radiators in the payload bay was found bent and not properly retracted in its storage box. The others were fully retracted into their storage boxes, as expected. Teams are continuing to gather data and assess any potential forward work. Managers will convene Saturday to further review and analyze what, if any, remaining work is required before launch.

Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Dan Tani will replace a motor at the base of one of the International Space Station's solar wings during a 6.5-hour spacewalk scheduled to begin early Wednesday.

Whitson will wear the spacesuit with red stripes as the lead spacewalker, while Tani will wear the spacesuit with broken stripes. They are to leave the station's Quest airlock at about 5:20 a.m. EST, though the spacewalk could begin earlier. NASA Television coverage will begin at 4 a.m.

Most of the spacewalk will focus on replacement of the motor, called the Bearing Motor Roll Ring Module (BMRRM). Called the 'broom," the motor drives the starboard solar wings as they tilt along their axis to follow the sun for optimal power generation as the station orbits the Earth.

HOUSTON - NASA will hold four media briefings next week to discuss International Space Station activities and provide a status of launch preparations for space shuttle mission STS-122. NASA Television also will provide live coverage of a Jan. 30 space station spacewalk, featuring Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Dan Tani.

The first briefing at 1 p.m. CST on Monday, Jan. 28, will preview the spacewalk. NASA TV coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 3 a.m. on Jan. 30 and after its completion, a briefing will be held at approximately 1 p.m. During the spacewalk astronauts will replace a motor that enables one of the station's solar arrays to pivot toward the sun. The motor experienced electrical failures in early December 2007.

1. ARISS School Contacts Status

Due to crew schedules onboard the ISS, no Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts are planned at this time. The ARISS team expects contacts to resume once STS-122 launches in early February.

2. STS-120 Crew Talks with Italian Students

On January 22, STS-120 crewmembers visited “La Sapienza” University in Rome where approximately 600 students from several universities and high schools gathered. Among those in attendance were students from the schools that participated in ARISS contacts with astronauts Paolo Nespoli, IZ0JPA, and Clay Anderson, KD5PLA. The crew gave a presentation on their mission which included educational activities, and showed videos to their audience. The complete story and photos of the event have been posted on the ARISS Web site. See: http://www.ariss-eu.org/2008_01_25.htm

The station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2, is in position with cameras to videotape the condition of a solar array gear this weekend. The video inspection of the Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ) as it rotates will assist engineers on the ground as they formulate a plan on future repairs. The starboard side SARJ will rotate 360 degrees twice, once on Saturday and once on Sunday.

Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Dan Tani were at the robotics workstation as the Canadarm2 walked off the Harmony Node to the Mobile Transporter (MT) on the station’s truss structure. The MT then slowly moved the robotic arm near the Starboard 3 truss where it was maneuvered into position for this weekend’s inspection.