Released into Earth orbit February 3, the novel SuitSat-1 Amateur Radio transmit-only spacesuit turned satellite has been heard around the globe, but those hoping to hear it using a hand-held transceiver or scanner have been disappointed. From the start, SuitSat-1 has been quite weak, and reports this week indicate its already-puny 145.99 MHz FM signal may be getting even weaker. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), the project’s sponsor, remains very interested in obtaining any valid voice telemetry reports (post to SAREX@amsat.org).
“The telemetry is transmitted about 30 seconds after the SSTV image stops,” explains ARISS Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO. Ransom says the transmission order is SSTV image, 30 seconds of silence, voice identification, mission time, temperature and battery voltage. “The battery voltage is of most importance,” he added.
At week’s end, SuitSat-1 was reporting a battery voltage of 26.7 V. Based on that figure, Lou McFadin, W5DID, of ARISS and AMSAT, has calculated that SuitSat-1 is likely to last a little more than nine days total. That means it could stop transmitting as early as February 12. ARISS Secretary Rosalie White, K1STO, says the ARISS team is especially interested in telemetry reports “near what we think may be the end, to help us track battery power and how the suit will finish up life.”
Consisting of a discarded Russian Orlan spacesuit equipped with ham radio gear, SuitSat-1 was released by International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 12 Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev as he and Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, began a spacewalk. The crew had stuffed some of its laundry into the spacesuit to help it to keep its form as it orbits Earth. AMSAT-NA has designated SuitSat-1 as AMSAT OSCAR 54 (AO-54).
“Seldom has an Amateur Radio event captured the public’s imagination and evoked so much positive news media coverage as SuitSat has,” said AMSAT-NA’s Bill Tynan in announcing the AO-54 designation.
Several reception reports on the SuitSat Web site http://www.suitsat.org/ indicate SuitSat-1 audio has been retransmitted via the NA1SS crossband repeater aboard the ISS. While the NA1SS Phase 2 station has been configured to retransmit SuitSat’s 145.99 MHz signal on 437.800 MHz, Ransom says he tends to discount the validity of the signals heard via the UHF repeater. “Since it hears everything, people are reporting every little squeak and whistle,” he said, adding that any reports posted are “very hard to verify” at this stage. Several reports mention hearing packet signals, but SuitSat-1 carries no packet gear. All telemetry transmissions are by digital voice.
Ransom urged all Earth stations not to transmit on SuitSat-1’s 145.99 MHz frequency–which is also the normal packet uplink channel–until the SuitSat-1 experiment ends.
ISS Commander McArthur remained upbeat about a future SuitSat mission. “Where there’s a will there’s a way,” he philosophized during a post-spacewalk contact recorded by Scott Avery, WA6LIE. “We’ve got more suits that need to be jettisoned.”
ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, proclaimed SuitSat-1 “tremendously successful,” its weak signal notwithstanding. “We have captured the imagination of students and the general public worldwide through this unique experiment,” he said, adding that the media attention alone has been some of the best ever for Amateur Radio.
Bauer further notes that SuitSat-1 has successfully carried student artwork, signatures and voices into space, and “the students are now space travelers as the suit rotates and orbits the earth.” SuitSat-1 also has shown that a spacesuit could be deployed and orbited from the ISS, “demonstrating to the space agencies that this can be safely done,” Bauer noted.
“Pioneering efforts are challenging. Risk is high. But the future payoff is tremendous,” Bauer concluded. He was able to hear one overhead pass that included at least part of the English-language ID, recorded by his daughter, Michelle. “Keep your spirits up, and let’s continue to be optimistic,” he urged later in an official SuitSat-1 status report. “And please keep monitoring!”
More information on the SuitSat-1 project, including QSL information, is available on the AMSAT Web site http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php