Using a simple police scanner or ham radio, you can listen
to a disembodied spacesuit circling Earth.
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January 26, 2006: One of the strangest satellites
in the history of the space age is about to go into orbit.
Launch
date: Feb. 3rd. That's when astronauts onboard the International
Space Station (ISS) will hurl an empty spacesuit overboard.
The
spacesuit is the satellite -- "SuitSat"
for short.
"SuitSat
is a Russian brainstorm," explains Frank Bauer of NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center. "Some of our Russian partners
in the ISS program, mainly a group led by Sergey Samburov,
had an idea: Maybe we can turn old spacesuits into useful
satellites." SuitSat is a first test of that idea.
Right:
ISS astronaut Mike Finke spacewalks in a Russian Orlan spacesuit
in 2004. SuitSat will have no one inside. [More]
"We've
equipped a Russian Orlan spacesuit with three batteries, a
radio transmitter, and internal sensors to measure temperature
and battery power," says Bauer. "As SuitSat circles
Earth, it will transmit its condition to the ground."
Unlike
a normal spacewalk, with a human inside the suit, SuitSat's
temperature controls will be turned off to conserve power.
The suit, arms and legs akimbo, possibly spinning, will be
exposed to the fierce rays of the sun with no way to regulate
its internal temperature.
"Will
the suit overheat? How long will the batteries last? Can we
get a clear transmission if the suit tumbles?" wonders
Bauer. These are some of the questions SuitSat will answer,
laying the groundwork for SuitSats of the future.
SuitSat
can be heard by anyone on the ground. "All you need is
an antenna (the bigger the better) and a radio receiver that
you can tune to 145.990 MHz FM," says Bauer. "A
police band scanner or a hand-talkie ham radio would work
just fine." He encourages students, scouts, teachers
and ham radio operators to tune in.
For
years, Bauer and colleagues at Goddard have been connecting
kids on Earth with astronauts on the ISS through the ARISS
program (Amateur Radio on International Space Station). "There's
a ham rig on the ISS, and the astronauts love talking to students
when they pass over schools," Bauer explains. ARISS is
co-sponsoring SuitSat along with the Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL),
the Russian Space Agency and NASA.
Right:
Tune your FM radio to 145.990 MHz.
When
will SuitSat orbit over your home town?
Use
Science@NASA's J-Pass
utility to find out. The online program will ask for your
zip code—that's all. Then it will tell you when the ISS is
going to orbit over your area. (Be sure to click the "options"
button and select "all passes.") Because the ISS
and SuitSat share similar orbits, predictions for one will
serve for the other. Observers in the United States will find
that SuitSat passes overhead once or twice a day—usually between
midnight and 4 o'clock in the morning. At that time of day,
SuitSat and the ISS will be in Earth's shadow and, thus, too
dark to see with the naked eye. You'll need a radio to detect
them.
"Point
your antenna to the sky during the 5-to-10 minute flyby,"
advises Bauer, and this is what you'll hear:
SuitSat
transmits for 30 seconds, pauses for 30 seconds, and then
repeats. "This is SuitSat-1, RS0RS," the transmission
begins, followed by a prerecorded greeting in five languages.
The greeting contains "special words" in English,
French, Japanese, Russian, German and Spanish for students
to record and decipher. (Awards will be given to students
who do this. Scroll to the "more information" area
at the end of this story for details.)
Next
comes telemetry: temperature, battery power, mission elapsed
time. "The telemetry is stated in plain language—in English,"
says Bauer. Everyone will be privy to SuitSat's condition.
Bauer adds, "Suitsat 'talks' using a voice synthesizer.
It's pretty amazing."
The
transmission ends with a Slow Scan TV picture. Of what? "We're
not telling," laughs Bauer. "It's a mystery picture."
(More awards will be given to students who figure out what
it is.)
Right:
In a laboratory at Goddard, SuitSat bends over to display
its antenna and control box. [More]
Students
and teachers who want to try this, but have no clue how to
begin, should contact their local ham radio club. There are
thousands of them around the country. Click
here to find a club near you. "Hams are notoriously
outgoing; most would be delighted to help students tune in
to SuitSat," believes Bauer.
Bauer
expects SuitSat's batteries to last 2 to 4 days. "Although
longer is possible," he allows. After that, SuitSat will
begin a slow silent spiral into Earth's atmosphere. Weeks
or months later, no one knows exactly when, it will become
a brilliant fireball over some part of Earth—a fitting end
for a trailblazer.
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Author: Dr. Tony
Phillips | Production Editor:
Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
More
Information |
This
is SuitSat-1! -- an overview of the SuitSat mission
by Frank Bauer.
Students
and teachers: How do you get your Suitsat awards?
Frank Bauer explains: "Those that hear SuitSat
should send their signal reports with a large (9x12
inch) self-addressed stamped envelope to one of the
addresses listed below."
- USA:
ARRL Headquarters SuitSat QSL 225 Main Street Newington,
CT 06111-1494 USA
- Canada:
Radio Amateurs of Canada SuitSat QSL 720 Belfast Road,
Suite 217 Ottawa Ontario K1G 0Z5
- Europe:
F1MOJ - Mr CANDEBAT Christophe SuitSat Europe QSL
Manager 7 Rue Roger Bernard 30470 AIMARGUES FRANCE
- Japan:
SuitSat Japan QSL JARL International Section Tokyo
170-8073 JAPAN
- Russia:
Alexander Davydov, RN3DK Novo - Mytishchinsky prospekt
52 - 111 Mytishchi 18, Moskovskaya obl. 141018, RUSSIA
- Other
countries, please use the US or Canadian
address above.
"Students
will get a certificate commemorating their reception.
Those that receive the picture or copy the special words
will get a special endorsement on their certificate."
[more]
SuitSat
Readies for Operation on 145.990 MHz -- (AMSAT)
Ham
Radios in Space (Science@NASA) -- Students and ham
radio operators are talking to astronauts in Earth orbit.
See also: Students
make first contact with ISS.
ISS
Fan Club
The
Vision for Space Exploration |
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