Space Station Field Day 2004 Operation Possible

Possibly on for Field Day 2004: Mike Fincke, KE5AIT (left), and Gennady Padalka, RN3DT, with their Russian Orlan space suits, prepare for a space walk that's tentatively set for June 24. [NASA Photo]

The crew of the International Space Station--astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, and Gennady Padalka, RN3DT--could be on the air for Field Day 2004. In 2001, astronaut Susan Helms, KC7NHZ, thrilled Field Day participants by showing up unexpectedly on the air and working several dozen stations. ISS crew members have participated in the event each year since. ISS Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth G. Ransom, N5VHO, says he's sent Field Day operating instructions and pass times to the ISS support team at Johnson Space Center for relay to Fincke this week.

"Those instructions state that the Mike should be operating as NA1SS, '1 Alfa ISS,'" Ransom said. "Mike was also notified that anytime he is over North or South America would be a chance to operate." Ransom says that if Padalka gets on the air, he'll identify as RS0ISS and give the same exchange. Fincke and Padalka would use the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) radio gear aboard the spacecraft.

Since most ISS passes over North America will already have occurred by the time Field Day gets under way at 1800 UTC on June 26, the ideal pass times sent to Fincke are for June 27 (see chart, "US Passes During Field Day").

"As with any Amateur Radio operation aboard the ISS, the crew gives of their free time to participate, and, as such, may not be available on every pass," Ransom said, adding that it's also possible that "more pressing events" may preclude Field Day participation altogether.

"Keep in mind that an EVA [extra-vehicular activity or space walk] is scheduled just a few days before Field Day, and the crew will still be in the process of getting back to a normal schedule when Field Day is in full swing," he said.

According to Ransom, if all goes well, the plan calls for Fincke to be on FM using the standard ISS voice frequencies for contacts in ITU Region 2--144.49 MHz up and 145.80 MHz down. Ransom said that if Padalka also participates, he would operate on the same 2-meter frequency pair, and the Expedition 9 crewmates would likely trade off on passes.

"The prospect of two operators being available and operating simultaneously is possible since ARISS now has two radios onboard," he pointed out. "If we are fortunate enough to have two operators on at the same time, one of them would be operating on 437.55 MHz simplex in the FM mode, while the other is on the standard 2-meter FM split voice frequency." The newest ARISS station includes a dualband VHF-UHF transceiver, so activation of either band is possible. Ransom cautions, however, that Doppler shift in the 70-cm band is significantly greater than on 2 meters (see chart, "Possible 70 Cm Doppler Shift Setups").

"Doppler will be the biggest challenge for earthbound hams trying to work ISS on 70 cm," Ransom said. "The Doppler on 70 cm is plus or minus 10 kHz." He notes that most radios include 5-kHz tuning steps, and to work ISS on voice means getting within 3 kHz of the ISS receiver frequency. The typical workaround is to set up sequential memory channels according to the charts to compensate for Doppler.

If it turns out that the Expedition 9 crew cannot participate in Field Day 2004, Ransom says the RS0ISS packet station should be on and available for ground stations to work each other via the packet digipeater using "ARISS" as the alias for the call sign in UNPROTO mode. Frequencies are 145.99 MHz up and 145.80 MHz down.

ARRL Contest Branch Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, says he was happy to hear that hams aboard the ISS may once again be on the air for Field Day. "We are really excited that the crew of the ISS might work some Field Day operating into their busy flight plan," he said. "Thanks to the hard work of Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, we look forward to seeing lots of reported QSOs with Mike--and perhaps Gennady--during Field Day 2004."

Henderson notes that ISS voice or packet contacts do not count for bonus satellite contact points because the ISS is not an "Amateur Radio satellite," as event rules specify. "The ISS contacts do not count for satellite credit, since they are point-to-point, whereas the traditional satellite QSO is a relayed Earth-satellite-Earth two-way contact," he explained. Field Day has no specific rules relating to ARISS operation because there's no guarantee that the crew will be able to get on the air for the annual exercise.

ARISS is an international educational outreach with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.

Don't forget the N6R Field Day station operating from the grounds of the Reagan Presidential Library. We may be on the down side of the sunspot cycle but there are still some great reasons to be active this year!

Ham Radio Ping List

Please Freepmail me if you want to be added to or deleted from the list.

2 posted on 06/19/2004 11:26:31 AM PDT by Denver Ditdat (Ronald Reagan belongs to the ages now, but we preferred it when he belonged to us.)

That's a great list! Joe Walsh WB6ACU is probably the most prominent "famous ham" these days, but I was surprised to see that Paul Tibbets has his ticket. It would certainly be an honor to work him.

4 posted on 06/19/2004 11:32:51 AM PDT by Denver Ditdat (Ronald Reagan belongs to the ages now, but we preferred it when he belonged to us.)

Here are a few updates to that famous hams page...

K2ZCZ is not the callsign of George Pataki. Chet Atkins died on June 30, 2001. WD4SKT is Donny Osmond's callsign. K4ZVZ is not the callsign of Paul Tibbets. Curtis LeMay died October 1, 1990. Stewart Granger died August 16, 1993. Andy Devine died on February 18, 1977. Jordan's King Hussein died February 7, 1999. Yuri Gagarin died in a plane crash on March 27, 1968.

Here's another nice "famous hams" page:]

http://users.tellurian.com/gjurrens/famous_hams.html

(de W7DPS)

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