ISS Fan Club

They have no direct access to the internet. They do have access to store and forward information (even items off the internet ) but they cannot do their own searches. As for the scientific info, those items are provided to them on demand using the store and forward operation.

Kenneth - N5VHO
ISS Ham Project Engineer
Johnson Space Center

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/
Support ARISS http://www.amsat-na.com/donation.php (select "Human Spaceflight (ARISS))

The ISS does have a direct internet connection while in line of sight with one of the NASA satellites. The connection is a 2Mbit connection on the Ku band, in the 14-16Ghz range.

In fact, the ISS crew has a Cisco VoIP client installed on one of the ISS laptops, something that has improved crew morale quite a bit from them being able to call home - even though it carries a 6-8 second latency, requiring them to start speaking while the phone is still ringing to ensure that the earth-side party doesn't just hang up due to the line being silent.

While email from the internet can be forwarded to a mirror server on the ISS and a VOIP system is on board the ISS, it is a point to point system (intranet). The crew can phone via the system but the call comes from a dedicated system at Mission Control. You can't call the crew and they can only call people when they have adequate Ku coverage via the Tracking Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). The crew cannot surf the web since no direct connection to the internet is in place.

Kenneth - N5VHO
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/
http://www.clarc.org/jprod/component/option,com_weblinks/catid,14/Itemid,23/

Just imagine how functional and useful a reliable and updated AX25 system would be to the crew. They could exchange e-mail faster and better that what they do with their official NASA assets!
Unfortunately there is APRS so this will always be impossible.

I can see that email could be exchanged faster if a dozen strategically placed ground stations could constantly support the tranfer of email between the ground and ISS but I don't see how it could be faster given the current frequency capabilities. NASA transfers several hundred megabytes during each of the the 3 mail syncs . I don't think any amateur radio system supporting space Earth operations can do that.

Kenneth - N5VHO
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/
http://www.clarc.org/jprod/component/option,com_weblinks/catid,14/Itemid,23/

Three times a day is once evey 8 hours (best case).
An amateur radio based system might do much faster than that. Excluding oceans and polar zones, we could provide an almost continuous coverage. Much much faster than once every 8 hours!
Using a 38K4 uplink system we might offer very large files as well.
Its only a dream but such a system would dramatically improve the interest that astronauts actually have in amateur radio because it would actually be something very useful.

38k4 data speed requeres a wide band transceiver.
Several amateurs have done 38k4 (on ground) experiments they used
homebrew wide band transceivers (in SHF band).
Via sats (or ISS) its more difficult the freq. in SHF chance
fast (doppler) so it requeres automatic doppler control otherwise
connection is bad.
NASA has a good (advanced) mail system in the KU-band so
not needed to do it with 38k4 ax25 protocol.
Im looking more forward to the DATV plans, I hope commercial
sat receivers can used for that.

Cor PD0RKC

Cor,

you're wrong. You can do 38k4 even on VHF using commercial radios and relatively cheap modems. Sometimes AO-51 does 38k4 on V/S mode.

Even switching to a full duplex 9k6 V/U system would make such a big difference.
There are affordable solutions out there.
The first step is admitting the problem. The second is start looking for the best solution.

Looks like ARISS is stuck on problem number one.

The ISS does have a direct internet connection while in line of sight with one of the NASA satellites. The connection is a 2Mbit connection on the Ku band, in the 14-16Ghz range.
_____

Your comment is true about the data rate for supporting internet connectivity but the system is currently NOT connected to the internet. It is a local network only. The capability is there to provide an internet connection while the ISS is in view of TDRSS but it is not in place.

Kenneth - N5VHO
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/
Support ARISS http://www.amsat-na.com/donation.php (select "Human Spaceflight (ARISS))

They do the mail syncs 3 times a day because that is all they need. They do it much more often when necessary. They could do 12, 24 or 100 syncs a day but that is not very efficient. Base your system on 500 Meg per hour every hour. That is what you are up against.

Kenneth - N5VHO
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/
http://www.clarc.org/jprod/component/option,com_weblinks/catid,14/Itemid,23/

Kenneth,
YOU as an ARISS memeber should base YOUR system on something else. Not me.
1200 bd APRS will bring packet radio (and possibly also the rest of ham radio on ISS) to its death.

Its not hard to believe that you folks at NASA with your multi-billion dollar budgets can do better than what ham radio can do.
Still, letting ham radio do something useful for the crew would be appreciated.

I believe there should be an upgraded, updated and completely redisigned packet radio system capable of doing useful things for the crew.
Drop the quick and easy things. Drop ARPS. Drop 1200 bd. We are not in the 70's no more.

ARISS, this obscure body that rules ham radio on ISS, has the know-
how, the skilled people and the resources to do that. The only thing that is missing is the will to do it.

I have a dream: FTL0 on ISS. That would be easy to implement and would bring incredible advantages.

Do you know what ARISS is?

Your statements would tend to indicate not.

ARISS is an all volunteer working group that assists in implementation of ideas for amateur radio use on the ISS. Persons submit proposals for ideas and projects for review by ARISS. If approved, the submittor goes off and develops the project for inclusion on the ISS with the guidelines outlined for human space flight certification.

So, send in YOUR proposal and be ready to develop it once it is approved.

Kenneth - N5VHO
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/
http://www.clarc.org/jprod/component/option,com_weblinks/catid,14/Itemid,23/

Kenneth you are right!
I don't know what ARISS exactly is and nobody else probably does.
Is it an association? Is it a corporation? Is it a branch of another association? Where is it recognized? Who elects the representatives? Is it for amatuer radio operations or only for school contacts?
One thing ARISS is for sure: a register trademark of Medtronic Inc.
I hope Medtronic will never complain or we will have to redesign all the t-shirts and all the websites (including mine).
ARISS is an obscure body ruled by obscure rules. And of course I refer to ARISS NA... because the rest of the ARISS worldwide simply do not matter at all.

Back to the packer radio discussion.
Lets face reality: PACKET RADIO ON ISS IS A TOTAL FAILURE.
Do I have to write that sentence on the first page of this site and keep it there until ISS deorbits or can ARISS (the obscure body mentioned earlier) start to realize this fact and use his brainpower to at least propose something new/better?

Well, since you now know what ARISS is (a volunteer working group), you can now follow the process that everyone does to get an idea considered. Submit a proposal. Surely you can write a proposal in an email and figure out who to send it to (Hint: poject selection and use committee chair).

Kenneth - N5VHO
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/
http://www.clarc.org/jprod/component/option,com_weblinks/catid,14/Itemid,23/

other modes not possible yeat but a simple beacon in vhf or uhf band is good to confirm passes over countries.

MAURICIO BERALDO PY4MAB
BRAZIL