If plans come together in time, an outdated Russian spacesuit could become the most unusual Amateur Radio satellite ever put into orbit. Being called “SuitSat” for now, the idea–from ARISS-Russia’s Sergei Samburov, RV3DR–sparked wide-ranging discussion among delegates to the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) International Team meeting October 11-13 in Alexandria, Virginia.
With diminishing stowage space aboard the ISS, several Orlan spacesuits used for space walks have been declared surplus. Samburov’s notion is to have an ISS crew equip one of them as an Amateur Radio satellite–possibly including a camera in the helmet area–and launch it during a space walk. ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, says the project is on a fast track because it must be ready to roll in less than a year.
“It is on a very short schedule,” Bauer said. “They’re talking about launching in November of 2005, and to launch then, it really has to be ready in June of next year. It’s going to be a big challenge,” Bauer said. A second Orlan suit is expected to be available in 2007.
Bauer says the fact that SuitSat will have to be integrated in orbit by cosmonauts adds even more to the complexity. And after all that, SuitSat might float in space just a month or two before deorbiting. As a result, delegates tried to keep the “KISS” principle in mind during their brainstorming on how to equip SuitSat. “We’ve got to keep it simple, and we’ve got to keep the costs down,” Bauer commented.
In addition to an onboard camera and a downlink transmitter, other ideas floated included the installation of temperature and radiation sensors, a beacon, a text-to-speech voice synthesizer so SuitSat could “speak” to students from data uplinked via packet, a full-duplex repeater and a GPS receiver to track SuitSat as it orbits Earth. The Orlan suits are pressurized and thermally protected, and have ample room inside.
“I think we’re doing a good job of engineering this thing on the fly,” Bauer remarked during the discussions. “This has excited a lot of people.” ARISS delegates agreed that the project might pique the interest of students, teachers and the news media. The ARISS Project Selection and Use Committee is studying the proposal, and ARISS is soliciting ideas from the Amateur Radio community on what to include.
The ARISS delegates also heard updates on ISS hardware projects already in the pipeline, including launch of a multiband, multimode Yaesu FT-100D transceiver and a slow-scan TV system to the ISS, possibly within the next year.
Re-elected during the session were Bauer as ARISS International Chairman, Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, as Vice Chairman, and Rosalie White, K1STO, as Secretary-Treasurer. Following the meeting, Bauer said he was pleased to see the ARISS team–now in its eighth year–“on the same page” and working smoothly.
“Every time we have an ARISS meeting, the camaraderie, the teamwork internationally get better and better,” he said.
Samburov offered similar sentiments. “It seems to me we have become more than just colleagues,” he said. “We have become friends, with a great deal of trust among ourselves.”