ARISSat-1
activated to celebrate 50th anniversary of first human spaceflight
To
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight by cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin, the ARISSat-1 satellite aboard the International Space Station will be
on the air using the station's external antenna. Transmissions will begin on
Monday, April 11, at
To
preserve the satellite's battery, transmissions will cycle on and off.
ARISSat-1 will transmit for 40 to 60 seconds, and then remain silent for 2
minutes.
The
FM transmissions on 145.950 MHz will alternate between a voice ID, telemetry
values, SSTV images and audio greetings in 15 different languages. One of the
transmissions will contain audio of a conversation between Gagarin and ground
controllers that was recorded during the historic flight.
A
CW beacon will be heard on 145.919 MHz cycling between the ARISSat-1 call sign,
telemetry and call signs of individuals involved in the ARISS program.
BPSK-1000
telemetry transmissions will also take place on 145.920 MHz SSB using the new
1kBPSK protocol developed by Phil Karn, KA9Q.
AMSAT
will issue commemorative certificates to listeners who receive the ARISSat-1
transmissions. Reports can be e-mailed to Gagarin@arissat1.org or yuri@arrisat1.org.
Include your name, call sign, a description of what you heard and the UTC time
you heard it. Recording the battery voltage telemetry values and the UTC time
you received them will be especially helpful.
You
can determine when the International Space Station will be passing overhead by
using the AMSAT-NA online pass prediction tool at
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/predict/.
Passes
over
Technical
details are available on the ARRL website
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php
Good
luck!
73,
Gaston
Bertels, ON4WF
ARISS
Chairman